^  .  SLX, 


^  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  ^ 


Presented    by  VCa^^  VC\C\vd^v-^\VC\'\\\G.X- 

O 


BS  650"Tm54  1903^ 
Miller,  Samuel,  1842- 
The  Bible  and  nature  versus 
L.opernicus 


APR  ^.2  1914 


v^; 


THE 

BIBLE  AND  NATURE 
COPERNICUS 


A  Series  of  Lectures  in  Defense  of  Sacred  Truths 
Discredited  by  I^odern  Science 

SAMUEL  MILLER 

PREFACED    BY 

Reminiscences  and  Reveries  of  the  Author 

ILLUSTRATED 


THE 


Mhhcy  Press 


Condon 


PUBLISHERS 

114 

FIFTH    AVENUE 

NEW  YORK 


inontreal 


^^ICAL  ^ 


Copyright,  1903, 

by 

THE 

Hbbey   press 


CONTENTS. 

INTRODUCTION  .-—Motive  for,  and 

P1.SK 

Object  of  the  Work. 

5-13 

MOTTO,  ''Non  Nohlis  Solum/' 

14 

CHAPTER  I.    Reminiscences. 

15 

My  Ancestors. 

15 

Personal  Peculiarities. 

19 

"Perpetual  Motion." 

23 

First  Astronomical  Calculation. 

26 

"Taking  the  Sun's  Altitude." 

27 

First  Effort  at  Self-conquest. 

28 

The  Dawn  of  Hope. 

30 

My  First  Great  Sorrow. 

31 

Standing  by  the  "Old  Flag." 

34 

Facing  the  Enemy's  Guns. 

36 

An  Unpleasant  Situation. 

38 

The  Charms  of  Solitude. 

40 

Adrift  in  a  Strange  Port. 

42 

Asleep  on  Guard. 

43 

CHAPTER  11.     Reveries. 

47 

The  Champion. 

48 

A  Dream  of  the  Age. 

54 

ii  Contents. 


A  Retrospection. 

56 

Deacon  Prohi's  Son  "Will." 

59 

'Tuba  Lihrer 

61 

"Placed  on  File." 

65 

The  Nation's  Hope. 

67 

Blind  Justice. 

73 

A  Reverie. 

76 

CHAPTER  III.    Reveries. 

79 

Our  Saviour's  Baptism. 

79 

Mother,  Home,  Heaven. 

82 

In  Charity. 

84 

"Suffer  Little  Children—" 

86 

The  Modern  Samaritan. 

88 

The  Rescue,  and  the  Saved. 

91 

Lazarus  the  Beggar. 

93 

The  Lamp  Still  Burns. 

97 

CHAPTER  IV.     Life  on  the  Farm. 

100 

A  Perilous  Incident. 

103 

Entering  the  Lecture  Field. 

106 

Fortune  Still  Coy. 

109 

Truth,  of  Humble  Origin. 

114 

In  the  Night  Watches. 

117 

CHAPTER  V.    The  "Higher  Criticism."  120 

Author  Criticises  a  Higher  Critic.  122 

The  Doctor's  Reply.  125 

The  Author's  Response.  128 


Contents. 

Hi 

PAGE 

The  Doctor's  Ultimatum. 

132 

The  Author's  Finale. 

135 

Why  Disturb  Existing  Conditions? 

141 

LECTURES. 

CHAP.  VI .    The  Bible  vs.  Copernicus. 

145 

The  Flood. 

150 

The  Sun  Stands  Still. 

156 

The  Sun  Turns  Back 

161 

God's  Estimate  of  Our  World. 

167 

Man's  Estimate  of  Our  World. 

169 

Cannot  be  Pleasing  to  God. 

172 

The  Witness  of  the  Spirit. 

172 

Our  Chief  Defense. 

175 

Physical  Apparatus. 

185 

CHAP.  Vn.    Nature  vs.  Copernicus. 

186 

The  Refraction  of  Light. 

187 

Counter  Refraction. 

189 

The  Lunar  Eclipse. 

194 

Celestial  Distances. 

201 

A  Transit  of  Venus. 

203 

The  Sun  Spot  Paradox. 

212 

CHAP.  Vni.     Nature  vs.  Copernicus. 

222 

Equation  of  Time. 

222 

The  Aberration  of  Light. 

227 

Stellar  Parallax. 

234 

jv  Contents. 

PAGE 

Kepler's  Second  Law.  241 

Its  Fallacy  Shown  by  Diagram.  247 

A  New  System  Outlined.  251 

Universal  Gravitation.  254 

Conclusion.  260 

CHAP.  IX.     Introduction  to  Lecture.  263 

"How  the  Poor  May  Become  Rich."  264 

A  Great  First  Cause.  270 

Man's  Free  Moral  Agency  271 

Eternal  Life  the  Free  Gift  of  God.  283 

Christian  Conversion  a  Reality.  286 

A  Word  to  the  Young.  291 

CHAPTER  X.     Religious  Faith.  293 

Is  the  Soul  Absolutely  Immortal?  296 

An  Intermediate  State.  302 

Immortality.  308 

Author's  Creed.  310 


IMTRODUCTION. 

Anticipating  that  an  excuse,  if  not  a  di- 
rect apology  will  be  deemed  in  order  for  my 
radical  departure  from  established  lines  of 
thought,  I  will  endeavor  to  make  such  ex- 
planation as  may  partake,  in  part,  of  the 
nature  of  both ;  hoping  my  fellow  men  may 
not  judge  all  unkindly  my  motives,  if  they 
cannot  commend  my  work. 

Early  in  life,  through  hopeful  conversion 
to  the  Christian  religion,  I  became  deeply 
impressed — yea,  fully  assured,  that  the  Bi- 
ble is  true.  But  as  I  grew  more  conversant 
with  current  lore,  I  found  that  some 
branches  of  physical  science — more  particu- 
larly that  of  Astronomy — were  widely  at  va- 
riance with  portions  of  Scripture,  and  that, 
in  consequence,  the  two  paths  of  knowledge 


vi  Introduction. 

diverged,  and  the  deeper  men  delved  in  the 
mines  of  scientific  research,  the  more  skep- 
tical they  became  of  scriptural  truth. 

This  gave  rise  to  the  thought,  which  lat- 
er became  a  life  purpose,  of  an  investigation 
of  this  important  matter;  believing  that  if 
fairly  and  intelligently  pursued,  in  the  fear 
of  God,  and  with  an  eye  single  to  his  serv- 
ice, it  would  lead  to  results  which  would 
tend  to  establish  his  vtord  more  perfectly 
in  the  hearts  of  men. 

Eealizing  at  the  outset  that  wealth  is  pow- 
er, and  that,  from  a  worldly  standpoint,  lit- 
tle could  be  accomplished  without  worldly 
means,  I  entered  the  field  of  invention,  which 
my  love  for  mathematics  and  mechanics  and 
the  liberal  spirit  of  our  patent  laws,  made 
specially  attractive;  hoping  in  a  few  years 
to  gain  such  a  competence  as  would  enable 
me  exhaustively  to  investigate  the  subject 
nearest  my  heart,  and  give  the  results  to 
the  people  from  the  rostrum,  without  com- 
pensation or  reward,  in  such  attractive  form 
as  would  command  both  their  attendance 
and  attention. 


Introduction.  vii 

I  would  invest  my  theme  with  paintings 
worthy  the  pencil  of  a  Raphael  or  a  Titian ; 
with  music  that  might  have  charmed  Arion 
and  his  retinue;  with  intricate  mechanism, 
whose  movements  would  reveal  more  fully 
and  correctly  the  wondrous  workings  of  the 
universe;  and  render  intelligible  and  effect- 
ive the  whole  with  that  persuasive  eloquence 
to  which,  in  the  exuberance  of  my  zeal  an^l 
young  manhood's  strength,  I  believed  I  was 
able  to  attain. 

Confining  myself  strictly  to  the  practical 
and  the  useful,  many  inventions  followed  my 
efforts  in  this  chosen  field,  some  of  which 
are  in  use  to-day.  For  some  of  the  more  im- 
portant ones  letters  patent  were  issued,  and 
desirable  business  connections  consummated 
for  their  introduction  and  sale;  and  at  times 
hope  beat  high,  and  the  prize  seemed  within 
my  reach — only  to  recede  again,  however,  or 
like  Dead  Sea  apples,  turn  to  ashes  in  my 
grasp. 

In  the  meantime  the  small  patrimony  with 
which  I  began  had  nearly  vanished,  gray 
hairs  suggested  emphatically  the  flight  of 


vlli  Introduction. 

time,  and  the  unwelcome  conviction  asserted 
itself,  that  if  I  would  do  this  work  for  the 
Master,  I  must  be  content  to  pursue  it  in  a 
more  humble  way ;  and  consoled  by  the  fact 
which  history  records,  that  nearly  all  great 
truths  have  come  to  the  surface  through  pri- 
vation and  difficulties,  I  gave  up  the  unequal 
struggle  for  wealth,  and  addressed  myself 
directly  to  the  task  I  had  assumed,  with  the 
limited  resources  I  could  command. 

It  is  needless  to  speak  of  the  years  of  un- 
requited toil, — of  the  hopes,  the  doubts,  the 
fears;  and  later,  the  glad  signs  of  the  com- 
ing dawn ;  sufficient  for  me  to  say,  that  my 
work  had  at  last  reached  that  stage  of  de- 
velopment, in  which  I  thought  best  to  give 
it  to  the  public ;  and  embodying  the  results 
obtained  in  a  series  of  three  lectures,  the 
important  points  of  which  I  made  ready  to 
illustrate  and  demonstrate  by  the  assistance 
of  carefully  prepared  charts  and  physical 
apparatus,  I  came  to  New  York  City,  with 
money  earned  by  hard  manual  labor  rented 
an  elegant  hall  in  a  Christian  institution, 
and  besides  newspaper  advertising,  mailed 


Introduction.  ix 

over  one  hundred  special  invitations  to  the 
learned  professions  and  the  press  to  attend 
my  lectures  on,  ^'The  Bible  and  Nature 
versus  Copernicus." 

None  but  reporters  came  to  hear  me,  how- 
ever, and  that  their  account  of  my  work  was 
not  over-assuring  to  the  public,  is  indicated 
by  the  following  extracts  from  a  full  column 
article  which  appeared  in  one  of  the  leading 
daily  journals  of  the  City : 

(From  N.  Y.  Tribune,  Dec.  18, 1896.) 

^^The  last  of  a  course  of  two  lectures  on 
'The  Bible  and  Nature  versus  Copernicus/ 
was  delivered  last  evening  by  F^aml  } filler, 
in  the  Assembly  Ball  of  the  'United  Chari- 
ties Building/  East  22d  St,  The  first  of 
these  was  delivered  on  Wednesday  evening 
and  was  reported  in  yesterday's  Tribune. 

''No  one  came  except  a  Tribune  re- 
porter and  two  others;  yet  he  gave  the  lec- 
ture from  beginning  to  end,  just  as  he  had 
intended. 

"Last  night's  attendance  was  a  repetition 


X  Introduction. 

of  the  first;  and  when  a  Tribune  reporter 
entered  the  hall,  rows  of  empty  seats  greet- 
ed him,    Mr.  Miller  was  in  the  side  room^ 

and  came  out  a  moment  later, 

^'There  was  nothing  ahout  him  to 


denote  the  cranJc  or  fanatic.  He  glanced  at 
his  watch,  and  seeing  that  it  was  past  the 
time  for  "beginning  his  discourse,  he  took 
the  platform, entered  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  ^Nature  versus  Copernicus/  and 
talked  at,  and  for  the  benefit  of  his  listen- 
ers, with  a  manner  lohich  iva^  at  all  times 
earnest,  calm,  and  sincere.  If  blasted  hopes 
and  heartrending  disappointment  bore  hard 
upon  him,  he  never  showed  it — the  tvhole 
situation  was  certainly  unique,  &c. — 

^'The  lecture  was  interesting  too, 

in  its  way, — Mr.  Miller  showed,  that  he 
knew  Astronoyny,  both  as  it  is,  and  as  he 
thought  it  ought  to  be;  dc,  dc.'' 

Failing  to  gain  an  intelligent  hearing  in 
New  York,  I  returned  to  my  home,  and  in 
January  following  delivered  two  of  my  lec- 
tures before  fair  sized  audiences  in  the  city 


Introduction.  xi 

of  Utica,  N.  Y.,  but  failed  to  elicit  any  re- 
sponse from  those  versed  in  the  science  on 
which  they  treat. 

I  also  essayed  to  promote  my  work  in  va- 
rious directions  by  correspondence;  but  fail- 
ing everywhere,  I  was  reluctantly  led  to 
conclude  that  the  age  I  lived  in  had  already, 
with  its  phenomenal  precocity,  absorbed  all 
the  knowledge  it  could  assimilate;  and  if  I 
would  have  my  work  survive  this  period  of 
intellectual  exaltation,  I  must  reduce  it  to 
book  form,  to  await  the  calmer  judgment  of 
those  whose  steadier  flight  may  yet  disclose 
to  them  the  truth  of  the  lesson  I  would  teach 
— that  man's  wisdom  is  fallible,  and  that 
with  God  only,  is  perfect  knowledge. 

When  difficulties  have  environed  and  de- 
feat has  saddened,  I  have  turned  for  fresh 
hope  and  inspiration  to  the  following  words 
on  the  "True  Keformer,"  written  years  ago 
by  the  late  Charles  A.  Dana : 

'^The  true  reformer  should  never  despair. 
Let  him  remember  that  error  alone  can  fail, 
and  that  the  truth  he  is  serving  can  only  he 


xii  Introduction. 

obscured  for  a  season.  Does  the  world 
scorn  him  and  7dOch  at  him,  as  one  by  one 
his  chrrlshed  hopes  arc  frustrated,  and  the 
labor  of  years  seems  fruitless?  Heed  it  not, 
noble  heart!  Thy  exceeding  love  for  them 
that  thus  despise  thee,  is  not  tvasted:  not 
vain  thy  yearning  to  bless  them  that  answer 
thee  with  sneers! 

^'It  is  not  for  the  day  thou  worhest,  but 
for  the  ages;  fear  not  that  the  ages  shall  lose 
the  ha r rest  of  thy  deeds.  Commit  thyself 
to  the  Proridence  that  guides  all  things; 
faint  not  if  thy  bare  and  loeary  feet  are  torn 
by  brambles;  over  the  path  that  with  thy 
life  thou  beatest  out,  Humanity  will  come 
hereafter  in  triumph  and  in  joy!'' 

Desirous  of  raisino:  my  work  above  that 
purely  negative  effort  whose  object  is  but 
to  question  antiscriptural  theories,  I  have 
concluded  to  supplement  the  scientific  por- 
tion with  an  evangelistic  discourse,  ad- 
dressed more  particularly  to  the  toiling  mil- 
lions with  whom  I  have  always  been  iden- 
tified, and  to  whom  my  heart  goes  out  in 


Introduction.  xiii 

wannest  sympathy;  indicating  in  plainest 
terms  how  they,  though  lacking  in  this 
world's  transient  possessions,  may  gain  the 
true  Heavenly  riches,  and  in  peace  and  hap- 
piness enjoy  them — Forever ! 

While  next  to  God's  own  providential  aid 
and  guidance,  my  thanks  are  due  to  my  wife 
and  daughter  and  two  sons,  who  have  so 
patiently  borne  with  me  through  these  years 
of  unremunerative  toil,  and  by  their  kindly 
forbearance  have  assisted  me  in  making  this 
production  possible,  yet  I  would  dedicate  it 
to  future  generations;  trusting  that,  "As 
pictures  owe  their  mellow  hues  to  time,"  so 
the  flight  of  years  may  soften  the  sharp 
lines  of  contemporary  intolerance,  which 
would  relegate  to  the  shades  the  results  of 
my  life  effort  to  demonstrate  that  between 
Nature  and  the  Bible  there  is  no  conflict. 


''-NOl^  NOBIS  SOLUM/' 

^^Love    thyself    last — cherish   those    hearts 

that  hate  thee; 
Corruption  wins  not  more  than  honesty: 
Still  in  thy  right  hand  carry  gentle  peace. 
To  silence  envious  tongues.    Be  just  and 

fear  not: 
Let  all  the  ends  thou  almost  at,  he  thy 

Country's, 
Thy  God's,  and  Truth's y  then  if  thou  fall'st, 

0  Cromwell! 
Thou  fall'st  a  blessed  martyr!" 

Shakspeare. 


REMINISCENCES  and  REVERIES. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Naturally  they  who  in  the  coming  years 
may  take  up  this  volume,  will  wish  to  know 
more  than  is  disclosed  by  the  treatment  of 
the  subject  proper,  of  the  man  who  pre- 
ferred to  brook  scholastic  disfavor  in  his 
day,  that  the  truth  might  be  declared ;  hence 
my  decision  to  attempt  such  a  brief  account 
of  my  personal  affairs,  and  my  earlier  con- 
nection with  this  work,  as  may  not  justly  ex- 
pose me  to  the  charge  of  egotism,  and  yet 
satisfy  the  reader  of  the  future. 

MY  ANCESTORS. 

A  few  years  before  the  Anglo-American 
war  of  1775-83,  a  young  wedded  couple  of 
Holland  Dutch  descent,  but  American  born, 


i6  Reminiscences. 

purchased  a  considerable  tract  of  land,  and 
hewed  out  for  themselves  a  rude  home  in  the 
primeval  forest,  at  a  point  situated  in  the 
present  rural  township  of  Columbia,  in  the 
county  of  Herkimer,  and  state  of  New  York, 
U.  S.  A.,  seven  miles  north  of  the  famous 
watering  place  and  pleasant  summer  resort 
of  Richfield  Springs. 

That  couple  was  Henry  and  Eva  Miller, 
my  grandparents  on  the  paternal  side.  Pos- 
sessing an  abundance  of  hope  and  vigor, 
they  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  little 
clearing  around  their  home  grow  larger  each 
year,  as  the  forest  retreated  before  the  stal- 
wart husband's  ax,  while  the  wife  invested 
their  humble  dwelling  with  those  simple 
home  charms  which,  where  contentment  is, 
transform  the  hut  into  a  palace. 

In  this  sylvan  retreat  children  were  born, 
to  augment  both  the  happiness  and  the  care 
of  my  worthy  ancestors;  other  settlements 
were  springing  up  around  them,  the  few 
natives,  or  Indians  in  the  vicinity  continued 
friendly,  and  they  looked  forward  to  a  life 
of  peace  and  prosperity. 


Reminiscences.  17 

But  in  the  midst  of  this  tranquillity,  there 
was  borne  to  them  on  the  eastern  breeze  the 
clarion  notes  of  war,  heralding  an  open  rup- 
ture at  last,  of  the  strained  relations  long 
existing  between  the  colonies  and  the  moth- 
er country ;  and  fleet-mounted  couriers  came 
darting  through  the  settlements,  calling  the 
sturdy  yeomanry  to  haste  to  their  country's 
defense. 

Gathering  his  little  flock  around  him,  and 
consigning  them  to  the  care  of  a  kind  and 
trusted  Heavenly  Father,  my  grandsire  took 
down  from  its  resting-place  over  the  rude 
mantel,  his  trusty  rifle,  and  only  waiting  to 
secure  his  ammunition  and  a  few  rations, 
set  out  for  the  appointed  rendezvous,  to  fol- 
low his  country's  banner  through  that  long 
and  unequal,  but  successful  contest,  record- 
ed in  history  as  the  American  Kevolution. 

My  grandmother  remained  at  home  with 
her  little  ones  many  months  after  her  hus- 
band's departure,  caring  for  their  embryo 
farm  and  little  home,  which  had  become  so 
dear  to  them;  but  the  conflict  was  steadily 
pressing  farther  westward  into  the  interior, 


1 8  Reminiscences. 

and  when,  one  beautiful  autumn  day  a  well 
known  scout  came  dashing  through  the  set- 
tlement on  his  foam-flecked  steed,  warning 
the  people  of  the  approach  of  a  hostile  body, 
she  hastily  gathered  up  a  few  necessary  gar- 
ments, seized  a  kettle  of  hasty  pudding  just 
ready  for  their  noonday  meal,  and  with  a 
small  pail  of  milk  and  a  few  rude  pieces  of 
table-ware,  took  her  two  children  and  set 
out,  through  the  woods,  for  the  friendly 
shelter  of  Fort  Herkimer,  seven  miles  away ; 
which  they  safely  reached  by  nightfall,  halt- 
ing only  a  sufficient  time  along  the  way,  in 
a  sequestered  ravine,  to  partake  of  their 
frugal  meal. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  this  family  was 
reunited,  and  returning  to  their  home,  took 
Tip  the  thread  of  life  anew.  More  cleared 
acres  were  added  to  those  already  im- 
proved, more  comforts  and  conveniences  to 
the  little  home,  and  more  members  to  the 
household;  my  father  having  been  the 
youngest  of  the  family. 

After  the  death  of  my  grandfather,  his 
landed  estate  was  divided  among  his  several 


Reminiscences.  19 

sons;  my  father,  John  H.  Miller,  receiving 
the  homestead,  and  assuming  the  care  of  my 
grandmother  and  a  crippled  uncle. 

My  mother  was  a  Widrick — a  niece  of 
Gen.  Geo.  Widrick,  who  saw  service  in  the 
war  of  1812-14,  and  I  was  her  youngest 
child;  the  date  of  my  birth  being  recorded 
in  the  old  family  Bible  as  Feb.  20,  1842. 

My  parents  began  their  wedded  life  in 
the  old  home,  but  in  due  course  of  time  they 
erected  the  more  modern  frame  structure  in 
which  I  was  born,  and  in  which  I  later  did 
much  of  the  work  treated  on  in  this  volume. 

I  had  one  brother  and  two  sisters  who, 
like  my  parents,  were  good,  sensible  people 
of  a  practical  turn  of  mind,  affiliating  with 
conditions  surrounding  them,  and  respected 
by  all  who  knew  them. 

PERSONAL  PECULIARITIES. 

T  was  emphatically  the  odd  sheep  of  the 
flock,  and  my  earliest  recollection  recalls  a 
fondness  for  Mechanics — I  would  leave  my 
playmates  any  time  to  watch  a  carpenter  or 


20  Reminiscences. 

blacksmith  work  at  his  trade.  I  also 
evinced  a  taste  and  aptness  for  cutting  pro- 
files, or  silhouettes  out  of  paper  with  a  scis- 
sors, and  in  drawing  with  chalk  or  pencil. 

When  sent  to  school  I  learned  rapidly, 
and  soon  gained  favor  with  my  teachers, 
though  I  was  not  a  favorite  with  the  school. 
There  was  always  a  tendency  to  miscon- 
struction of  my  kindest  impulses  and  purest 
motives ;  and  that  tendency  has  followed  me 
through  life,  causing  me  sadness  and  regret. 

I  early  acquired  a  fondness  for  mathemat- 
ics, which,  during  that  stage  when  every 
boy  must  play  at  "circus,"  was  turned  to 
account  by  the  lads  employing  me  to  survey 
and  stake  out  for  them  their  imaginary  pa- 
vilion and  arena.  I  would  go  out  with  my 
line  and  stakes,  and  pursue  the  work  with 
a  pleasure  that  lasted  till  my  task  was  com- 
pleted, but  ended  where  their  fun  began, — 
the  enterprise  possessed,  for  me,  no  further 
interest. 

That  love  for  mathematics  increased  with 
my  school  years,  and  I  soon  fell  to  encoun- 
tering and  pursuing  some  of  the  most  dififi- 


Reminiscences.  21 

cult  problems  with  a  tenacity  of  purpose 
which  usually  reached  a  successful  solution, 
and  gave  me  a  reputation  for  never  giving 
up  a  problem. 

As  a  boy  I  was  impulsive — easily  moved 
to  sympathy  by  the  wail  of  distress  from 
any  living  creature,  and  just  about  as  easily 
moved  to  anger,  on  provocation.  Respect- 
ing my  own  personal  interests,  I  have  ever 
been  what  the  world  is  pleased  to  call,  im- 
provident; hoping  and  desiring,  it  is  true, 
to  be  in  comfortable  worldly  circumstances 
some  day,  yet  never  reaching  that  period 
when  I  was  willing  to  ignore  a  brother's 
need  or  interests,  that  I  might  add  to  my 
worldly  possessions ;  and  only  desiring  and 
seeking  wealth  for  promoting  the  object  I 
had  in  view. 

One  day  when  yet  a  small  boy,  my  moth- 
er said  to  me  in  a  tone,  not  so  much  of  re- 
proach as  of  prophecy:  ''You  will  never  be 
rich,  Sam !"  The  expression  was  prompted 
by  my  giving  a  traveling  mendicant  all  the 
pennies  I  had — the  savings  of  many  days. 
How  true  that  prophecy;  yet  how  hard 


22  R 


emmiscences. 


for  the  average  man  of  tlie  world  to  under- 
stand that,  for  myself,  I  have  no  regrets. 

I  always  had  a  keen  relish  for  the  humor- 
ous side  of  life,  and  when  a  boy,  there  was 
ample  scope  for  obserying  the  ludicrous,  in 
the  yicinity  of  my  home.  We  had  a  half 
dozen  or  more  regular  ^^roundcrs"  in  that 
section,  who  visited  the  farmers  periodical- 
ly for  sampling  the  cider  always  found  on 
tap  in  those  days.  Each  one  of  those  thirsty 
gentlemen  was  a  distinct  character;,  abound- 
ing in  eccentricities  peculiar  to  himself ;  but 
among  them  there  was  one  of  such  marked 
individuality  as  to  claim  more  than  a  pass- 
ing notice  here : 

Perce  Jackson,  in  his  cups,  was  to  my 
boyish  fancy  the  funniest  man  I  ever  saw; 
and  no  matter  how  sternly  I  would  be  cau- 
tioned against  the  impropriety  of  laughing 
at  his  folly,  Avhen  Perce  turned  his  facial 
battery  on  me,  one  twinge  of  the  muscles 
he  knew  so  well  how  to  w^ork  effectively, 
would  render  that  caution  void  and  inoper- 
ative for  the  time  being. 

Several  years  ago,  during  an  idle  day  my 


Reminiscences.  23 

tliouglila  lecurred  to  this  man,  and  I  made 
him  the  hero  of  a  little  sketch  in  rhyme,  as 
will  be  found  in  the  next  chapter,  under  the 
title  of,  "A  Retrospection." 

PERPETUAL  MOTION. 

When  in  my  fourteenth  year,  an  older 
schoolmate  explained  to  me,  in  a  general 
way,  the  subject  of  "Perpetual  Motion,"  of 
which  he  had  been  reading.  I  became  in- 
terested at  once,  and  later  gave  the  matter 
a  good  deal  of  thought;  the  result  being, 
that  when  I  was  sixteen,  I  turned  my  hand 
for  the  first  time  to  invention,  by  undertak- 
ing to  produce  a  perpetual  motion  machine, 
after  a  plan  Avhich  I  conceived  and  reduced 
to  drawing,  which  was  plausible  enough  to 
arouse  the  interest  and  enthusiasm  of  those 
who  were  priAileged  to  examine  it. 

But  I  early  learned  what  all  must  sooner 
or  later  learn,  who  take  up  this  fascinating 
study — that  action  and  reaction  are  always 
equal  and  in  opposite  directions;  and  that 
gravity  acts  just  as  forcibly  on  an  ascending 


24  Reminiscences. 

body,  as  on  a  descending  one ;  while  no  body 
can  exert  a  greater  force  in  descending  from 
a  given  point,  than  is  required  to  raise  it  to 
that  point  again,  no  matter  by  what  route 
it  travels. 

A  little  later  my  mind  was  incidentally 
turned  to  the  subject  which  afterward  be- 
came my  life  study.  It  was  my  privilege 
to  observe  an  important,  though  not  quite 
total  eclipse  of  the  sun;  and  as  I  saw  that 
well  defined,  circular  shadow  sweep  over 
the  sun's  disc,  I  fell  to  meditating  on  the 
cause  of  the  strange  phenomenon.  I  had 
learned  nothing  of  astronomy  up  to  that 
time,  but  that  dark,  curved  or  circular, — 
something^  passing  between  me  and  the  sun, 
impressed  me  as  being  some  other  heavenly 
body  which,  I  correctly  theorized,  might  be 
the  moon. 

Soon  feeling  confident  that  I  had  discov- 
ered the  cause  of  this  phenomenon,  I  began 
to  extend  my  inquiries,  and  having  a  fair 
general  knowledge  of  geography — the  loca- 
tion and  significance  of  the  equator  and  the 


Reminiscences.  25 

tropics,  lines  of  latitude  and  longitude,  with 
reference  to  the  location  of  my  home,  &c.,  I 
conceived  the  bold  project  of  attempting 
what  I  learned  in  after  years,  is  the  most 
important  problem  in  astronomical  science 
— that  of  calculating  the  distance  of  the  sun 
from  earth ;  technically  called  ^Tinding  the 
solar  parallax." 

I  had  learned  that  at  the  time  of  the  equi- 
noxes— on  the  21st  day  of  March,  and  on 
the  23d  day  of  September,  the  sun  is  direct- 
ly over  the  equator,  and  on  consulting  the 
map,  I  found  that  my  home,  (from  which 
my  observations  would  be  made, )  was  near- 
ly on  the  43d  parallel  of  north  latitude.  I 
reasoned  that  whatever  angle  the  sun's  rays 
made,  at  high  noon  on  those  days,  with  a 
line  perpendicular  to  my  point  of  observa- 
tion, if  that  angular  line  were  continued  till 
it  cut  a  line  drawn  upward,  perpendicular 
to  the  earth  at  the  equator,  the  point  of  in- 
tersection of  the  two  lines,  would  represent 
the  sun's  place;  whose  distance  from  earth 
could  be  accurately  determined,  by  taking 
the  known  diameter  of  the  earth  for  our 


26 


Reminiscences. 


measuring  unit.  This  plan  is  illustrated  by 
the  diagram  below,  which  I  will  describe 
as  follows: 

The  circle  represents  the  earth,  the  line 
B,  the  equator,  and  A  my  place  of  observa- 
tion in  lat.  43°  north,  while  S 
indicates  the  point  where  the 
line  c,  (representing  the  sun's 
rays,)  intersects  the  earth - 
perpendicular  line  D,  which 
point  locates  the  sun ;  and  A, 
B,  C,  is  the  angle  which  the 
sun-rays  make  with  the  line 
B,  which  is  perpendicular  to 
my  place  of  observation. 

Taking  this  as  the  basis  of 
calculation,  it  is  evident  that 
the  distance  from  earth  to 
s,  would  be  as  many  times 
the  earth's  diameter  (7,926 
miles)  as  its  diameter  is  con- 
tained in  that  distance. 

After  this  plan  had  been  carefully  con- 
sidered, diagrammed,  and  settled  upon,  I 
confidently  awaited  the  23d  of  September, 


Reminiscences.  27 

earnestly  hoping  it  might  be  a  clear  day, 
and  conditions  favorable  for  me  to  gather 
data  for  making  this  positive  mathematical 
calculation  of  a  quantity  which,  I  had  been 
led  to  believe,  had  in  the  past  been  comput- 
ed by  very  uncertain  methods. 

TAKING  THE  SUN'S  ALTITUDE. 

The  eventful  day  came  at  last,  and  every- 
thing seemed  to  favor  the  momentous  un- 
dertaking. The  sky  was  without  a  cloud, 
and  to  my  great  satisfaction,  the  family  all 
went  to  town  that  day,  except  my  crippled 
uncle,  who  sat  in  his  great  easy  chair,  no 
doubt  wondering  what  strange  freak  the 
boy  was  pursuing  again,  while  I  made  my^ 
elaborate  preparations  for  "taking  the  sun's 
altitude"  when  it  should  reach  its  meridian 
height,  as  its  rays  came  in  over  the  window- 
sill  and  rested  on  the  floor  of  the  living- 
room  which  we  occupied. 

My  observation  was  duly  made,  and  satis- 
factory results  obtained,  which  I  very  soon 
applied  to  the  diagram  that  had  previously 


28  Reminiscences. 

been  prepared; — but,  strangest  of  strange 
results! — the  angular  line  c,  instead  of 
tending  toward  the  line  d,  as  in  the  preced- 
ing diagram,  actually  ran  just  about  paral- 
lel with,  or  possibly  a  little  divergent  to  D, 
as  shown  by  the  dotted  line,  H. 

What  could  be  the  meaning  of  this?  Had 
I  not  observ^ed,  calculated,  and  diagrammed 
correctly?  This  was  a  poser,  and  somewhat 
of  a  damper  to  me  for  a  time;  but  the  next 
year  I  began  the  study  of  Physics,  and  soon 
learned  the  prime  cause  of  my  discomfiture, 
when  I  came  to  the  subject  of  ^'Refraction 
of  light,"  which  I  make  one  of  the  leading 
topics  in  my  lectures. 

FIRST  EFFORT  AT  SELF-CONQUEST. 

As  I  look  back  over  those  early  years,  I 
can  now  see  that  I  was  regarded  by  my  ac- 
quaintances, as  not  a  bad — in  fact,  as  quite 
an  exemplary  youth.  I  manifested  to  them 
no  conspicuously  bad  habits,  had  early  been 
taught  to  respect,  and  treat  with  kindness 
the  aged  and  infirm,  attended  church  and 


Reminiscences.  29 

Sunday  school,  was  fairly  attentive  to  my 
studies  and  duties, — and,  at  any  rate,  was 
above  public  censure. 

But  I,  myself,  came  to  know  that  I  was 
desperately  wicked.  I  knew  that  there 
surged  within  my  rebellious  heart  a  hot  tor- 
rent of  evil  thoughts  and  passions,  which 
sometimes  found  vent  in  violent  acts,  but 
oftener  in  violent  and  profane  words;  and 
the  conviction  gained  with  me  that  I  must 
strive  for  something  better — but  where 
would  the  work  of  reformation  begin? 

My  first  effort  was,  to  cease  all  profanity ; 
and  to  those  who  are  still  slaves  to  this  ut- 
terly useless,  foolish,  and  deplorably  sinful 
habit,  I  wish  to  say  that  I  found  its  conquest 
so  decidedly  easy,  that  from  the  very  hour 
I  first  made  the  decision,  I  had  put  it  under 
my  feet  forever! 

I  firmly  believe  that  God's  good  angels 
specially  help  the  man  or  woman  who  sober- 
ly and  solemnly  decides  never  again  to  speak 
irreverently  the  names  of  the  Father  and 
the  Son.  And  when  once  emancipated,  how 
thoroughly  futile,  inelegant,  and  uncalled 


30  Reminiscences. 

for  the  needless  jargon  sounds.    It  certainly 
is  something  easy  not  to  do. 

THE   DAWN   OF  HOPE. 

The  good  work  so  auspiciously  begun, 
was  later  continued  with  a  serious  consider- 
ation of  my  relations  to  a  Supreme  Being, 
and  I  fell  to  studying  attentively  the  words 
of  promise  and  instruction  contained  in  the 
Scriptures,  with  the  result  that,  ere  long,  I 
found  that  peace  and  hope  which  our  Savior 
promises  all  who  diligently  seek  him ;  and 
though  my  life  service  has  fallen  far, — far 
short  of  T\^at  it  should  have  been,  from  so 
bright  and  hopeful  a.  beginning,  yet  that 
early  experience  has  influenced  my  whole 
subsequent  career;  and  who  is  able  to  say 
that  the  poor  effort  I  have  put  forth  in  the 
cause  of  divine  truth,  though  spurned  by  the 
"higher  critics,"  and  regarded  with  a  stolid 
suspicion  by  the  "old  school"  theologians, 
may  not  win  for  me  a  humble  place  in  the 
bright  throng  of  the  redeemed?  since  our 
Heavenly  Father  regards  not  more  highly 


Reminiscences.  31 

the  wonderful  achievements  of  men, — of 
which  he  stands  in  uo  need, — than  he  does 
the  pure  motive  and  the  worthy,  though  un- 
successful effort  to  do  him  service. 

MY    FIRST    GREAT    SORROW. 

As  clouds  sometimes  obscure  for  a  season 
the  bright  face  of  the  sun,  and  give  a  som- 
bre cast  to  the  cheerful  landscape,  so  in  the 
following  year  the  bright  beam  of  hope  that 
shone  across  my  path,  was  shaded  by  my 
first  and  greatest  sorrow. 

I  had  an  only  brother,  three  years  older 
than  myself  who,  except  when  I  was  away 
at  school,  had  been  my  constant  companion 
through  all  my  boyhood  years;  and  I  loved 
that  brother  with  all  the  strength  of  an  ar- 
dent, impulsive  nature.  He  was  the  direct 
opposite  of  me  in  all  that  makes  humanity 
lovable.  Instead  of  the  reserved,  sensitive, 
non-magnetic,  his  was  the  warm,  friendly^ 
social  nature,  that  made  and  held  everyone 
his  friends.  His  tastes  were  purely  practi- 
cal and  domestic,  while  I  was  ever  reaching 


32  Reminiscences. 

out  into  the  untried  and  unknown,  and  get- 
ting myself — misunderstood! 

But  he  understood, — and  believed  in  me; 
and  when  my  father  decided  to  give  me  a 
liberal  education,  he  generously  consented 
to  shouldering  the  extra  duties  my  absence 
would  impose,  and  always  encouraged  my 
efforts,  and  manifested  the  deepest  interest 
in  my  advancement. 

But  one  cheerless  winter  night,  when  the 
cold  winds  moaned  among  the  leafless  trees, 
the  landscape  was  robed  in  its  winding- 
sheet  of  snow,  and  the  ice-fetters  clasped  the 
streams  in  their  frozen  embrace,  that  gen- 
erous heart  ceased  to  beat, — that  manly 
form  was  touched  by  the  cold  finger  of — 
Death !  and  a  gloom  more  chilling  than  the 
winds  that  moaned  his  sad  requiem,  fell  on 
the  happy  home  of  my  youth. 

Other  bereavements  have  followed,  till  I 
alone  am  left,  of  that  home  circle ;  and  each 
has  brought  its  poignant  grief  and  left  its 
sad  memory;  my  parents  and  uncle  depart- 
ing in  the  ripe  fullness  of  years,  and  both 
my  sisters  in  the  prime  of  matronly  woman^ 


Reminiscences.  33 

hood;  but  that  earlier  bereavement,  when 
the  Dark  Angel,  for  the  first  time  invaded 
the  home^  has  left  an  impression  which  time 
is  feeble  to  efface. 

Long  years  have  flown  since  then — the 
snows  of  many  winters  have  rested  on  his 
grave,  and  their  pallid  hue  is  imparted  to 
my  once  dark  locks;  but  that  memory  is 
still  green,  and  sometimes  I  try  to  picture 
how  it  might  be,  had  he  been  spared  to  see 
this  day. 

The  old  homestead,  now  so  dreary  and 
neglected,  improved  and  modernized,  might 
still  be  the  center  of  a  happy  social  and 
family  circle,  dispensing  its  hospitality  as 
of  yore;  the  fields  be  smiling  under  gener- 
ous culture,  and  a  warm  welcome  awaiting 
my  occasional  return  to  the  only  place  I 
ever  called — home! 

But  it  was  not  so  to  be, — and  can  we  say 
that  it  would  be  better  thus?  Can  we  say 
that  he  is  not  happier,  or  that  the  rugged 
path  I  am  treading,  may  not  yet  lead  to  the 
fulfillment  of  my  destiny? 


34  Reminiscences. 


STANDING  BY  THE  OLD  FLAG. 

When  twenty-one  years  of  age,  I  began 
teaching,  and  during  my  first  summer  va- 
cation I  officiated  as  clerk  at  the  famous 
summer  resort  hotel,  "The  Spring  House,'^ 
at  Richfield  Springs,  N.  Y. 

Those  were  stirring  days^ — our  civil  war 
of  1861-65  was  at  its  height  then — broth- 
er striving  against  brother  with  an  energy 
and  desperation  that  boded  final  desolation 
to  our  fair  land. 

The  battle  of  Gettysburg,  with  its  fearful 
carnage,  was  fought  early  in  July,  bringing 
the  confiict  far  north ;  the  famous  New  York 
riot  quickly  followed,  and  strong  men's 
faces  blanched,  at  the  prospect  of  the  wide- 
spread ruin.  For  weeks  following,  the  Old 
Flag  seemed  to  hang  limp  at  the  mast^ — to 
almost  trail  in  the  dust. 

At  this  time  of  my  country's  sorest  need, 
I  came  to  New  York  City,  and  enlisted  as 
a  common  sailor  in  the  United  States  Navy, 
and  was  soon  put  aboard  a  battle-ship,  and 


Reminiscences.  35 

sent  down  on  the  Wilmington  blockade,  off 
the  coast  of  North  Carolina. 

Here  is  where  would  properly  come  in  the 
record  of  heroic  deeds  and  glorious  achieve- 
ments ;  but  unf ortunafely,  the  limited  oppor- 
tunities for  distinguishing  myself,  and  the 
lack  of  a  fertile  imagination,  will  make  this 
part  of  my  history  only  plain  reading. 

I  went  through  the  usual  routine  aboard 
a  man-o'-war  of  washing  down  decks,  drill- 
ing at  the  guns,  also  standing  an  occasional 
mast-head  look-out,  and  my  regular  night- 
watch  and  look-out  on  deck.  This  list  was 
diversified  with  partaking  of  the  regular 
ship's  fare  three  times  a  day,  and  sleeping 
in  a  hammock  a  few  hours  at  night. 

But  the  monotonous  life  aboard  ship  was 
relieved  occasionally  by  sighting  a  strange 
sail,  when  our  vessel,  which  was  a  fast  one, 
would  give  chase  and  overhaul  the  stranger. 
This  would  cause  the  greatest  excitement 
and  activity  among  our  crew,  who  would  be 
ordered  to  their  respective  posts  as  we  drew 
near,  ready  for  action  if  the  craft  appeared 
formidable,  and  could  not  give  a  good  report 


36  Reminiscences. 

of  herself ;  which  however  they  usually  suc- 
ceeded in  doing,  with  us,  though  sometimes 
not  without  considerable  parleying. 

FACING   THE   ENEMY'S   GUNS. 

Another  occasion  for  change  in  our  tread- 
mill existence  would  come  when  our  breth- 
ren, the  enemy,  would  send  out  one  of  their 
"blockade  runners,"  or  clandestine  supply 
boats,  under  cover  of  the  guns  of  Ft.  Fisher 
and  their  shore  batteries,  just  before  night- 
fall, for  the  purpose  of  decoying  us  within 
range  of  their  heavier  guns,  and  I  presume 
also  to  get  their  vessel  started  on  its  way  to 
escape  through  the  picket-line  of  our  fleet, 
during  the  darkness  of  the  night. 

We  would,  at  such  times,  draw  up  within 
fairly  effective  range  and  open  fire,  wihich 
would  be  promptly  responded  to  by  the  fort 
and  batteries,  the  shot  and  shell  flying  fast, 
and  sometimes  unpleasantly  close;  our  ship 
in  the  meantime  working  her  guns  as  rapid- 
ly as  possible,  and  occasionally  shifting  her 
position,  to  spoil  the  enemy's  range;  which 


Reminiscences.  37 

tactics  fortunately  kept  us  from  harm,  but 
another  vessel  of  our  fleet — the  "Iron  Age," 
was  destroyed,  by  a  shell  being  fired  into 
her  magazine. 

The  firing  would  be  kept  up  till  darkness 
set  in,  when  we  would  retire  to  our  station 
in  the  picket-line  extending  across  the  chan- 
nel ;  there  to  watch  in  silence  and  darkness 
for  the  unlucky  craft  that  should  have  the 
temerity  to  cross  our  path. 

In  those  engagements,  I  am  now  happy  to 
say,  I  do  not  know  that  I  was  ever  instru- 
mental in  killing,  or  in  assisting  to  kill  a 
single  man,  though  our  vessel  gave  a  good 
account  of  herself  during  my  term  of  service 
aboard  of  her ;  and  had  every  craft  of  equal 
capacity  in  the  service  of  the  Government 
done  equally  well,  the  war  would  have  end- 
ed two  years  sooner  than  it  did ;  as,  besides 
other  minor  services,  we  captured  one  large 
blockade  runner,  laden  with  a  valuable 
cargo  of  general  and  military  supplies, 
which  we  duly  turned  over  to  the  Govern- 
ment and  received  certificates  for  "prize 
money." 


38  Reminiscences. 


AN   UNPLEASANT   SITUATION. 

We  took  the  crew  of  the  prize  aboard  our 
own  vessel,  and  assigned  them  the  forward 
part  of  the  berth  deck;  stretching  a  rope 
across  for  a  dividing  line,  and  beyond  keep- 
ing a  marine  guard  or  two  at  this  line,  and 
serving  them  with  rations,  paying  but  little 
attention  to  our  prisoners,  till  one  night  one 
of  our  marines,  a  fine  young  fellow,  whose 
hammock  swung  next  to  mine,  was  taken 
violently  sick,  and  in  spite  of  all  the  ship's 
surgeon  could  do  for  him,  he  grew  steadily 
worse,  till  finally  two  other  surgeons  of  the 
fleet  were  summoned,  and  a  council  of  doc- 
tors was  held. 

From  the  ominous,  non-committal  de- 
meanor of  the  doctors,  I  gained  the  impres- 
sion that  they  had  discovered  something 
serious,  if  not  alarming;  and  when  night 
came,  and  the  men  were  asleep  in  their  ham- 
mocks, I  called  the  colored  doctor's  nurse  ( a 
Georgia  plantation  man)  to  me,  and  asked: 


Reminiscences.  39 

"Ben !  what's  the  matter  with  this  man — 
what  do  the  doctors  say  of  him?" 

With  a  furtive,  sweeping  glance  at  the 
sleepers  in  their  hammocks,  which  displayed 
his  white  eyeballs  in  the  dim  light  of  the 
ship's  lantern,  and  with  his  great  chest  heav- 
ing as  if  he  had  been  running  a  race,  he 
came  up  close  to  my  ear  and  whispered  loud 
enough  to  be  heard  on  the  gun  deck : 

"Well,  I  doan'  s'pose  I's  'lowed  to  tell  you 
de  truf,  sah!  but  I  specs  he's  done  got  de 
small-pox  r 

Great  guns !  Here  had  I  been  lying  two 
nights  beside  a  man  having  the  small-pox! 

But  how  did  the  poor  fellow  take  the  dis- 
ease? Then  it  occurred  to  me  that  one  of 
our  prisoners  had  appeared  indisposed,  and 
was  lying  down  nearly  all  the  time  he  had 
been  aboard,  and  it  was  later  found  that 
from  him  the  infection  came. 

Rigid  measures  were  taken  the  next  day 
to  prevent  the  spread  of  the  disease,  by  vac- 
cinating all  hands ;  and  as  we  were  getting 
short  of  coal,  we  ran  up  to  Beaufort,  N.  C, 
our  regular  coaling  station,  where  our  ship 


40  Reminiscences. 

was  quarantined,  after  sending  our  patient, 
myself  who  had  been  specially  exposed,  and 
two  others,  to  Hammond  General  Hospital, 
in  Beaufort. 


THE  CHARMS  OF  SOLITUDE. 

Our  sick  man  was  sent  out  to  the  "pest 
house,"  and  I  was  placed  in  a  vacant  ward 
of  the  hospital,  considerably  removed  from 
the  other  inmates,  to  await  developments. 

I  ihave  seen  some  dark,  and  some  lonely 
hours  since  that  time,  and  the  outlook  has 
been  dreary  and  unpromising,  but  never  be- 
fore or  since  have  I  been  so  brought  face  to 
face  with  the  aiofulness  of  desolation^  that 
environed  me  those  nine  days  of  isolation 
and  uncertainty. 

The  only  sounds  that  came  to  my  ear  were 
the  dull,  monotonous  beat  of  the  sea  waves, 
and  the  occasional  crowing  of  one  solitary 
rooster,  whose  existence  near  a  military  post 
could  only  be  accounted  for  on  the  theory 
suggested  by  his  "Hark  from  the  tombs" 


Reminiscences.  41 

style  of  crowing — he  had  grown  so  old  and 
thin  that  the  boys  had  no  use  for  him. 

The  visual  prospect  was  no  more  cheering 
than  that  presented  to  the  ear.  From  my 
window  stretched  the  murky  waters  of  the 
harbor,  with  some  shipping  at  the  farther 
side,  and  the  low  walls  of  Fort  Macon  be- 
yond ;  the  remaining  landscape  consisting  of 
stretches  of  yellow  sand,  with  a  dull,  leaden 
sky  overhead  and  a  general  cast  of  gloom. 
Could  outlook  be  more  cheerless? 

Yet,  strange  to  say,  in  the  midst  of  these 
disheartening  circumstances  I  never  yielded 
to  despair.  I  confidently  expected  to  have 
the  terrible  disease  to  which  I  had  been  so 
thoroughly  exposed,  but  I  as  confidently  be- 
lieved that  I  should  pull  safely  through,  and 
I  was  even  able  to  picture  to  my  mind's  eye 
the  scarred  and  changed  appearance  I  would 
present  to  my  family  and  friends,  on  my  re- 
turn to  them  again. 

The  fateful  day  was  drawing  near — but 
that  God  in  whom  I  trusted  heard  the  pray- 
ers for  strength  and  help  which  ascended  to 
him  from  that  lonely  room,  and  he  answered 


42  Reminiscences. 

them  in  his  own  good  way,  which  is  always 
better  than  ours — his  hand  turned  aside  the 
scourge  which  human  science  decreed  must 
fall, — when  the  tenth  day  of  my  seclusion 
arrived,  a  careful  examination  disclosed  no 
symptoms  of  the  malady,  and,  thank  Heav- 
en !  I  was  saved,  and  once  more  free ! 

ADRIFT  IN  A  STRANGE  PORT. 

Our  ship  had  in  the  meantime  transferred 
her  prisoners,  been  released  from  quaran- 
tine and  was  on  her  way  down  to  the  fleet ; 
leaving  me  in  the  quaint  old  town  of  Beau- 
fort a  few  weeks,  till  she  came  again  for 
coal.  The  young  marine  recovered  in  time 
to  go  aboard  with  me,  on  her  return. 

While  in  Beaufort,  I  mingled  much  with 
the  people,  and  gained  a  most  favorable  im- 
pression of  our  Southern  brethren.  I  found 
both  the  white  and  the  colored  people  kind, 
courteous,  and  generous  to  a  fault ;  with  no 
disposition  to  refer  to  "our  little  unpleasant- 
ness" during  friendly  intercourse. 

Among  others,  I  formed  the  acquaintance 


Reminiscences.  43 

of  a  Mr.  Barry,  a  native  of  Charleston,  S.  C, 
who  was  one  of  the  kindliest,  as  well  as  one 
of  the  most  entertaining  men  I  ever  met. 
He  had  been  in  the  service  of  our  merchant- 
marine  in  some  capacity  or  other  for  several 
years,  and  had  visited  many  of  the  principal 
ports  of  the  world ;  and  possessing  fine  con- 
versational and  descriptive  talent,  I  never 
tired  of  hearing  him  talk  of  the  beautiful 
places  he  had  seen,  and  the  varied  and  pleas- 
ing adventures  he  had  met  with. 

But  I  am  dwelling  too  long  on  this  part  of 
my  experience;  the  theme  seemed  very  cir- 
cumscribed when  I  began,  but  memory  calls 
up  events  which  might  fill  a  volume.  I  will 
close,  however,  by  narrating  one  more  event 
which  appeared  to  me  so  impressive,  that  if 
my  description  can  do  it  even  meager  justice 
I  trust  the  reader  will  not  deem  the  time 
taken  for  its  perusal  wholly  lost. 

ASLEEP  ON  GUARD. 

When  the  young  marine  and  myself  went 
aboard  ship  again,  we  were  at  once  assigned 


44  Reminiscences. 

to  our  respective  places,  though  he  was  far 
from  strong  yet;  and  one  night,  after  our 
vessel  had  again  taken  her  place  in  the  fleet , 
the  officer  of  the  watch  found  the  poor  fel- 
low asleep  at  his  post.  Poor  tired,  debilitat- 
ed nature  had  given  out  at  last,  and  lapsed 
into  a  repose  which  was  a  crime,  punishable 
with  death! 

Oh !  that  duty  and  discipline  should  ever 
demand  so  stem  retributive  action  against 
men,  when  the  heart  is  right,  the  motive 
pure,  the  spirit  willing,  and  only  the  poor 
overtasked  flesh  fails! 

But  such  is  the  approved,  and  apparently 
necessary  operation  of  our  poor  human  laws, 
— that  invalid  youth  was  placed  in  irons  and 
cast  into  the  ship's  prison,  ( called,  in  ship's 
parlance,  "The  Brig," )  to  live  on  bread  and 
water  till  his  cause  should  be  adjudicated. 
♦  *♦*** 

Ten  days  had  already  flown,  and  a  beau- 
tiful Sabbath  morning  dawned  on  the  world, 
bright  and  pure  as  an  angel's  dream.  The 
men,  arrayed  in  their  "Sunday  best,"  were 
formed  in  a  hollow  square  on  the  quarter 


Reminiscences.  45 

deck,  for  dress  review;  after  which,  the 
impressive  Sunday  service  was  read, — and 
then  the  prisoner,  wan  and  worn,  and  with 
the  deep  scars  from  that  dread  disease  dis- 
figuring his  once  handsome  features,  was 
brought  from  his  gloomy  cell  and  placed  in 
our  midst,  to  receive  that  public  sentence 
which  should  be  a  salutary  lesson  to  all. 

The  enormity  of  the  offence,  and  the  dire- 
ful results  which  might  have  ensued,  were 
impressively  recited  by  our, — really  kind- 
hearted  executive  officer, — and  then,  mid  a 
hush  like  the  stillness  of  the  grave,  in  falter- 
ing tones  he  pronounced  the  terrible 

death  penalty! 

And  what  of  the  prisoner?  Calm  and  se- 
rene he  stood  there,  with  eyes  a  little  eleva- 
ted, as  though  looking  away,  through  the 
fleecy  white  clouds  and  the  bright  sunshine, 
to  the  beautiful  Haven  of  Rest  beyond.  No 
stolid  indifference  was  manifest,  no  defiant 
bravado;  but  a  calm  and  holy  resignation, 
such  as  can  come  only  from  a  brave  heart 
fortified  by  an  unwavering  trust  in  God. 

Pausing  a  moment,  to  give  the  fateful 


46  Reminiscences. 

words  their  full  import  and  influence,  our 
"Executive'^  once  more  broke  the  silence,  by 
proceeding  to  review  the  extenuating  cir- 
cumstances connected  with  the  young  man's 
offence,  and  then,  with  a  magnanimity 
which  endeared  him  to  us  all,  and  which 
might  with  profit  be  emulated  by  others  who 
are  in  authority,  he  assumed  that  divine  pre- 
rogative which  subordinates  justice  to  mer- 
cy, and  granted  the  youth — a  free  and  un- 
conditional pardon! 


CHAPTER  II. 

When  but  a  youth,  I  developed  a  love  for 
poetry,  and  passed  many  pleasant  hours  in 
reading  selections  from  Cowper,  Goldsmith, 
Byron,  Young,  Longfellow,  Bryant,  Willis, 
and  others;  likewise  the  complete  works  of 
Milton,  which  had  a  peculiar  charm  for  me 
after  I  became  familiar  with  his  style  of  ex- 
pression. 

The  study  of  such  grand  productions  nat- 
urally awakened  a  desire  for  imitation ;  but 
with  the  exception  of  a  very  few  quite  early 
effusions,  I  made  no  attempt  at  versification 
till  later  in  life ;  when  during  an  occasional 
respite,  if  some  subject  of  special  interest 
came  up,  I  fell  to  scribbling  in  verse  for  the 
lack  of  something  better  to  do. 

Those  productions,  with  one  or  two  ex- 
ceptions, were  not  published ;  and  to  relieve 
the  dryness  of  what  may  be,  to  some,  a  prosy 
volume,  and  also  with  the  hope  that  an  oc- 


48  Reveries. 

casional  reader  may  be  interested  or  amused 
thereby,  I  have  selected  a  few  of  them  on  a 
variety  of  subjects,  with  which  to  make  up 
a  brief  chapter  or  two. 


THE  CHAMPION. 

In  days  of  yore,  a  line  of  kings 

Long  ruled  their  land  so  wise  and  just, 
That  peace  and  plenty  smiled  on  all; 

And  toilers  brave  reposed  the  trust 
That  want  and  strife  would  vex  no  more, 

The  brethren  of  their  humble  lot; 
But  love  and  justice  e'er  would  reign, 

And  war  and  intrigue  be  forgot. 

They  forged  the  sword  of  carnage  to 

The  plowshare's  rude,  but  useful  shape, 
And  spears  they  turned  to  pruning  hooks. 

To  dress  the  olive  and  the  grape. 
The  wheel  turned  daily  in  the  mill. 

The  loom  gave  forth  its  noisy  clang, 
And  Youth  was  gay  and  Age  was  cheered, 

And  maidens  at  their  light  tasks  sang. 


Reveries.  49 

But  can  the  Foe  of  Humankind, 

View  undismayed,  such  calm  repose? 
He  who  in  Eden  wrought  the  deed, 

That  brought  us  death,  and  all  our  woes? 
With  cunning  vile  and  intrigue  bold, 

And  nothing  fearful  to  offend. 
He  seeks  out  those  aspiring  ones. 

Who  scorn  not  to  betray  a  friend. 

"Dost  see  the  treasure  being  heaped 

Into  the  storehouse  of  your  Sire? 
What  though  you  fare  as  well  as  he? 

This  wealth  is  yours,  if  ye  aspire! 
Go  tell  the  tale  to  fickle  men, 

That  howe'er  blest  their  peaceful  days, 
Still  better  times  than  they  have  seen, 

Await  their  turn  to  Wisdom's  ways!" 

The  word  passed  out,  unrest  was  sown 

Throughout  the  borders  of  that  land ; — 
"Give  us  a  change!"  they  stoutly  cry: 

And  tumult  rose  on  every  hand. 
The  ruler  who,  with  scepter  mild. 

Had  guided  them  with  tender  care, 
Was  soon  dethroned,  and  quick  they  gave 

The  "Prince  of  Promises"  the  chair. 


50  Reveries. 

♦     ♦     *     Wherefore  these  idle  men, 

With  downcast  eye  and  clouded  brow? 
W^hence  comes  this  wail  of  want  and  woe? 

Why  in  the  furrow  rusts  the  plow? 
Where's  flown  the  spindle's  lively  whirr, 

The  sounds  of  wheel  and  forge  and  loom? 
A  ^^Change'^  has  come!  the  sun  has  set! 

And  murmurs  greet  the  gathering  gloom ! 

From  out  the  surging  crowd  there  speaks 

A  voice,  by  want  and  wait  made  bold : 
"My  brethren,  we  have  been  deceived ! 

By  promise  false  we  have  been  sold ! 
Rise!  rise!  and  in  your  might  cast  off 

These  chains  which  bind  us  to  our  lot ! 
We'll  walk  this  earth  again,  free  men! 

And  live  to  see  these  wrongs  forgot !" 

"Hear  treason !  treason !"  minions  shout 

To  their  new  ruler  on  his  throne: 
"Away  to  prison  with  the  dog. 

We'll  crush  dissension  as  it's  sown !" — 
The  sun  seeks  shelter  from  a  cloud. 

The  song-bird's  note  of  joy  is  sealed ; 
All  Nature  mourns  this  son  of  toil, 

As  hirelings  drag  him  from  the  field.  *  * 


Reveries.  51 

*     *     *     Morn  on  the  tourney-field — we  see 

The  troops  of  peasants  gathering  in; 
With  bated  breath  of  him  they  speak, 

Who  expiates  this  day  his  sin. — 
The  sin  of  voicing  that  whereof 

The  heart,  long  full,  was  overstrained  : 
But  hush !  the  heralds  wind  a  blast — 

They  come ! — the  Monarch  and  his  train ! 

In  pompous  state  he  takes  his  seat. 

His  knights  arrayed  on  either  hand: 
"Bring  forth  the  dog!"  he  hoarsely  shouts, 

"Who  dared  breathe  treason  to  his  band ! 
Let's  see  if  he,  who  late  so  brave, 

Would  make  his  vaunting  language  good, 
When  face  to  face,  he's  called  before 

These  of  our  knightly  brotherhood! 

"How  now,  vile  knave !  hast  aught  to  say 

Against  thy  sentence,  ere  the  while? 
Stand  forth  and  face  this  goodly  sword! 

Thy  blood  its  blade  will  soon  defile! 
Ah  ha!  dost  falter,  grov'ling  cur? 

Still  wouldst  thou  with  thy  voice  pollute 
The  presence  of  our  royalty, 

And  seek  our  edict  to  refute?" 


52  Reveries. 

"Nay,  Sire!  this  only  would  I  crave, — 

Thou  knowest  the  laws  of  chivalry ; 
They  give  unto  the  one  condemned 

The  right  to  choose  a  champion,  free! 
Grant  me  this  freedom,  and  I  fail, 

I'll  ask  not  further  at  thy  hand !" 
"It's  granted,  churl !  go  seek  your  knight ! 

Hah !  who  dare  face  one  of  our  clan?" 

Apart,  there  stand  a  group  of  knights. 

Not  of  the  Monarch's  royal  train ; 
And  in  their  midst  a  white  plume  waves, 

Which  spot  the  prisoner  seeks  to  gain. 
Arrived  there,  he  devoutly  kneels 

Before  him  of  the  waving  plume. 
And  prays  that  he  will  save  him  from 

The  fate  of  his  impending  doom. 

The  knight  bends  low,  he  lifts  him  up, 

And  bids  him  be  of  better  cheer ; 
And  nothing  daunted,  goes  to  stand 

Before  this  judge  and  king  austere. 
"Most  worthy  Sire!  enough  I've  seen 

Of  tourney  tilt  and  battle  strife, 
To  crave  me  not  unduly  this ; 

But  this  is  for  a  hrothefs  life! 


Reveries.  53 

"This  gauntlet  therefore  I  cast  down, 

Low  at  my  Monarch's  royal  feet ! 
Who  takes  it  up,  of  goodly  fame, 

I'll  hold  myself  prepared  to  meet ! 
With  lance,  or  sword,  or  battle-ax, 

Will  I  engage  him  in  the  fight — 
A  brother's  weal  my  holy  cause. 

My  battle  cry,  ^God  and  the  right !'  " 

"But  why  select  this  gray-haired  knight. 

Thou  Prisoner?"  quoth  the  royal  king: 
"Though  firm  his  step  and  keen  his  eye, 

Yet  younger  knights  would  likely  bring 
More  willing  service  to  thy  cause. 

Not  that  we  fear  his  trenchant  blade; 
But  fain  would  know  the  impulse  hid. 

On  which  thy  worthy  choice  was  made." 

"Canst  thou,  O  Sire!  recall  the  strife 

Which  gave  to  thee  thy  present  throne? 
This  knight  stood  up,  unheeded  then. 

And  made  this  noble  precept  known : 
*The  toiler  is  ill-paid,'  said  he, 

^And  wages  are  unjust  reduced. 
When  daily  wants  are  not  supplied. 

And  wherewith  to  instruct  the  youth ; 


54  Reveries. 

"  'With  something  for  old  age,  besides 

Stern  want  and  bitter,  scalding  tears!' 
That  precept  in  my  ears  hath  rung, 

Through  this  repentant  term  of  years. 
And  now  I  breathe  once  more  of  hope, 

And  trust  to  see  my  just  cause  won, 
By  him  whom  I  with  joy  salute. 

And  hail,  my  dauntless  champion!" 


The  following  article,  written  in  1889, 
suggesting  the  development  of  Electrical 
Science  up  to  that  date,  is  in  imitation  of 
Bryant's  poem,  ''The  Dream,"  with  a  few 
lines  borrowed  from  the  same,  for  which  I 
hereby  make  acknowledgment. 

A  DEEAM  OF  THE  AGE. 

I  had  a  dream — a  strange,  wild  dream ! 

Thus  said  a  voice  at  early  light: 
I've  slept  so  long,  its  shadows  seem 

To  linger  in  my  waking  sight. 


Reveries.  55 

A  dear  one  stood  on  a  foreign  strand, 
While  broad  Old  Ocean  rolled  between ; 

She  pressed  a  button  with  her  hand, 
And  click  click  click  went  some  machine. 

Forth  from  the  caverns  of  the  sea, 
A  message  prompt  and  speedy  came; 

And  lo !  it  was  addressed  to  me! 

And  bore  the  distant  sender's  name! 

"Halloo !  halloo !"  this  next  I  heard, 

In  notes  that  quavered  high  and  higher: 

"List  now,  and  try  to  catch  each  word ; 
I'm  talking  to  you — through  a  wireT 

The  chattering  converse  at  length  done, 
The  waning  day  had  closed  in  night : 

I  moved  my  hand — when,  like  the  sun! 
Flashed  forth  a  dazzling  sea  of  light! 

New  objects  strange  the  light  reveals: 
A  man  a  waxen  roll  did  take, — 

He  placed  it  mid  a  group  of  wheels, 
And  lo!  the  moving  wonder — spake! 


56  Reveries. 

As  rapt  I  stood,  past  seemed  to  float 
A  phantom,  steamless,  steedless  train; 

No  clattering  hoofs  the  pavement  smote, 
No  driver  held  the  guiding  rein. 

What  means  this  visitation,  pray? 

Expound  to  me  the  lesson  now ! 
'Twas  thus  I  heard  the  dreamer  say. 

And  bade  him  clear  his  clouded  brow : 


"Your  dream  is  realized  to-day. 

Such  scenes  now  pass  in  quick  repeat; 
And  visions  stranger  yet  than  they, 

May  haunt  your  next  Van  Winkle  sleep." 


A:  RETKOSPECTION. 

As  memory  turns  to  scan  life's  way, 
A  shadow  quaint  comes  up. 

Of  one  I  knew  in  boyhood's  day, 
Who  loved  too  well  the  cup. 


Reveries.  57 

Sad  story  'tis  for  me  to  tell, 
But  'neath  that  battered  "tile," 

Reposed  a  wit,  I  know  full  well 
Could  have  made  a  bishop  smile: 

A  mind  that  with  a  proper  bent 

To  win  itself  a  name. 
Might  to  its  day  and  age  have  lent, 

A  well-earned  meed  of  fame. 

But  love  of  glass  and  maudlin  wit, 

Perverted  sad  the  course, 
Of  him  who  oft  would  make  a  hit, 

Which  showed  his  latent  force. 

One  day,  across  the  fields  he  strode, 

Unto  the  nearest  inn. 
With  jug  in  hand,  to  get  the  "load,'' 

So  precious  then  to  him. 

Returning,  he  with  "caishnul  quaff," 

His  arid  frame  regales; 
But  soon,  alack !  across  his  path, 

There  loomed  a  fence  of  rails. 


58  Reveries. 

Sedate  he  clambered  up  the  side, 

And  swung  his  hurden  o'er, 
But,   (vain  attempt  the  truth  to  hide,) 

His  strength  could  do  no  more. 

As  stands  a  moment,  the  proud  oak, 

When  severed  at  the  trunk, 
Then  sinks  before  the  woodman's  stroke, 

So  dropped  our  hero — drunk! 

For  slipping  from  his  weakening  hold, 

His  counterpoise,  the  jug, 
Both  jug  and  man,  (it  must  be  told,) 

To  earth  came  with  a  thud. 

Soon  gathering  up  his  prostrate  form. 

And  peering  through  the  fence. 
He  spied  the  jug,  with  stopper  gone. 

And  th'  liquor  flowing  thence. 

As  the  "gud  gud  gud''  of  gurgling  flood, 

Fell  doleful  on  his  ear, 
^^Ah,  yes!"  sighed  he,  ''I  know  ye're  ^gud,' 

But  I  dropped  over  hercF^ 


Reveries.  59 


DEACON  PROHI'S  SON,  "WILL." 

In  all  the  country,  scarce  you'd  find 
A  young  man,  who  in  heart  and  mind, 
And  all  that  graces  humankind, 
Excelled  the  Deacon's  son. 


The  hand  he  gave  was  warm  and  strong, 
His  laugh  was  like  the  wood-bird's  song, 
He  cheered  with  wit  the  social  throng, 
His  friendship  was  sincere. 

But  lurking  in  his  veins,  there  lay 

A  thirst  that  sometimes  comes,  they  say, 

In  some  hereditary  way. 

From  ancestors  remote. 

And  frequent  did  he  trip,  forsooth. 
When  scarcely  yet  more  than  a  youth; 
But  always  gave  his  word  of  truth, 
Each  trip  should  be  the  last. 


6o  Reveries. 

His  mother,  fearing  for  her  child, 
No  longer  by  fond  hope  beguiled. 
Implored  her  spouse  in  accents  mild, 
Some  check  to  interpose. 

"What!  I  make  terms F'  the  Deacon  cried, 
"With  this  accursed  thing,  spreading  wide? 
Ne'er  will  /  seek  to  stem  the  tide, 
By  compromise  with  sin ! 

"Nay!  let  the  wrathful  torrent  roar! 
Let  earth  run  red  with  human  gore ! 
Till,  like  at  Oman's  threshing-floor, 

God  says,  ^Staij  now  thine  hand !' " 

The  stem  old  deacon  had  his  way ; 
The  mother  ceased  not  once  to  pray. 
But  never,  never  came  the  day, 

When  poor  Will  said,  "  'Tis  enough." 

The  daisies  wave  now  o'er  his  tomb — 
His  heart-crushed  mother  followed  soon — 
The  Deaican  w^lks  his  lonely  room 

And  sighs,  "Too  late!  too  late! 


Reveries.  6i 

"Could  I  but  then,  as  now,  have  seen 
This  Hydra-headed  dragon  lean, 
I'd  have  known  it  could  not  e'er  have  been, 
To  crush  with  one  fell  stroke! 

"Had  I  my  saint-wife's  bidding  done, 
And  lopped  these  heads  off,  one  by  one, 
I  might  have  kept  our  noble  son 

Out  of  a  drunkard's  grave! 

"But  now,  alas!  it  is  too  late; 
They  await  me  at  the  Pearly  Gate; 
May  God  forgive  my  great  mistake, 
And  take  us  to  His  rest!" 


''CUBA  LIBRE/' 

(1896.) 

Aurora  greets  the  billowy  sea! 
The  King' of  Day,  now  risen,  darts  his  rays 
Across  the  waves,  and  near  our  tropic  line, 
Like  a  rare  diamond  set  mid  lesser  gems^ 
Discloses  there  a  green  and  fertile  isle: — 
Fair  queen  of  the  far-famed  Antillean  group 


62  Reveries. 

Whose  orange  groves,  by  the  zephyrs  fann'd 
That  steal  across  Caribbe's  southern  sea, 
Yield  their  rich  fruitage  to  our  open  marts ; 
While  saccharine  sweets  in  bountiful  stores, 
And  rare  exotics  greet  our  shores. 

Four  centuries  are  flown  since  first  arose 
To  ken  of  questant  navigator  bold. 
The  headlands  of  this  fair  retreat.    The  heel 
Of  despot  since  has  deep  and  deeper  tracked 
Its  virgin,  and  its  highly  cultured  soil, 
And  laid  a  tribute,  onerous  to  bear ; 
But  with  resources  natural,  yet  rare — 
Delightful  climate,  swift  productiveness, 
And  ease  of  access  to  the  world  around, 
It  has  however  to  a  factor  grown 
In  the  commercial  world,  exceeding  far 
The  area  of  its  circumscribed  domain : 
And  if  oppression  has  at  times  evoked 
The  plaint  of  people  smarting  under  wrong, 
These  islanders,  in  most  part,  yet  have  been 
A  happy  and  contented  band  of  men. 

But  in  this  closing  century,  what  strides 
Hath  Freedom  made,  and  victories  secured ! 


Reveries.  63 

Our  goddess  fair  of  Liberty  hath  flung 
Her  banner  to  the  breeze,  to  float,  undimmed 
Now,  o'er  the  soil  once  by  the  bondman 

trod: 
The  inspiration  from  its  folds  goes  out — 
Is  wafted  o'er  the  intervening  waves. 
And  touches  this  fair  isle — pervades  its  air, 
And   is   breathed   in   by   people   long   op- 
pressed. 
At  last  the  long-restrained,  decisive  shout 
Of  ^^Cuba  lihre!    Cuba  lihreT  swells 
Again,  until  resistance  armed  and  fierce, 
Confronts  with  bristling  steel  the  cry  *  ♦  ♦ 
And  lo !  the  shout  is  changed  to  wail  of  woe ! 


Where  late  the  happy  song  was  heard, 
Th'  inspiring  thrum  of  harp  and  mandolin. 
Timing  the  feet  of  merry  dancers,  'neath 
The  palm  trees'  shade,  while  Age  surveyed 
AVith  kind  emotions,  youthful  pastimes  gay. 
There  now  are  raging  all  the  horrors  dire 
Of  savage  and  exterminating  war. 
Waged  by  a  cruel  and  relentless  foe. 
Whose  blinded  zeal  no  age  or  sex  doth  know. 


64  Reveries. 

Mid  such  unequal  and  inhuman  strife, 
This  little  band  bears  bravely  up,  yet  looks 
AVith  hope  to  us,  the  nearest  hand  to  aid — 
Exemplar  too,  of  that  for  ^^hich  they  strive. 
Shall  Cuba  seek  in  vain  the  help  that  came 
So  grateful  and  so  timely  to  our  cause 
When  erst  this  nation,  later  grown  so  great, 
Trod  the  same  path,  trembling  for  its  fate? 


I  counsel  no  rash  breach  of  treaty  made, 
Nor  rupture  of  the  general  law  that  guides 
Great  nations  in  their  intercourse  benign; 
Yet  would  I  advocate  obedience  to 
That  higher  law  humane,  by  God  impressed 
In  living  letters  on  each  Christian  heart ; 
And,  grateful  for  the  grand,  historic  past, 
AYould,  by  such  memories  as  Bunker  Hill 
And  Valley  Forge,  and  noble  La  Fayette, 
Adjure  the  Nation's  counselors  to  heed. 
And  ponder  well,  and  then  decide  aright 
What  now  so  stirs  each  patriotic  heart. 
And  then  to  vitalize  and  si.^iialize 
That  just  decision,  born  of  motive  pure, 
By  action^  prompt,  humane,  decisive,  Sure,' 


Reveries.  65 

In  the  spring  of  1889,  a  new  government 
administration  was  ushered  in,  represented 
largely  by  veterans  of  our  late  Civil  War; 
and  being  out  of  employment,  as  well  as  out 
of  funds,  I  applied  to  the  head  of  one  of  the 
departments  for  a  small  clerkship,  and  re- 
ceived such  a  flattering  reply,  that  I  waited 
in  hope  and  confidence,  till  hope  finally 
turned  to  disgust,  when  I  wrote  the  follow- 
ing article  and  sent  it  to  the  department, 
advising  them  to  "file"  it  with  my  applica- 
tion: 


"PLACED  ON  FILE." 

As  the  days  drag  slowly  by, 

Weary  I  wait; 
And  forsooth,  would  know  just  why 

Doubt  holds  my  fate. 
Is  it  that  too  much  I  sought  for? — 
Just  for  menial  wage  t^ave  wrought  for! 
The  same  land  in  youth  I  fought  for ! 

Or  was  I  too  late? 


66  Reveries. 

"Yours  rec'd  and  contente  weighed, 

Tiled'  it  shall  be; 
To  its  claims  all  deference  paid, — " 

Tims  yon  wrote  me. 
"But  the  time  has  scarcely  come  yet. 
And  in  fact  we've  nothing  done  yet 
With  the  places,  such  as  you'd  get:" 

Signed,  B.  F.  T. 

It  was  then  the  early  Spring. — 

Autumn  is  here; 
Still  I  wait  the  postman's  ring — 

Gone  by,  I  fear ! 
Yet  a  comrade  would  not  treat  so, 
Any  man  who  helped  to  veto 
That  rash  effort  of  the  foes  to 

What  we  held  dear. 

"What  a  chump  you  are!"  says  Hoag — 

Ward  heeler,  wise. 
"Why,  some  chap  with  foreign  brogue. 

Sure  get^  that  prize! 
You'll  get  nil  for  what  you've  done,  Sir ! 
For  the  spoils  are  not  thus  won,  Sir! — 
Bet  that  windy  caucus  bumster 

Gets  there,  if  he  tries!" 


Reveries.  67 

Yet  I  fain  my  faith  would  save, 

Spotless  and  pure, 
In  the  leaders  of  the  brave, 

Firm  to  endure. 
Nor  rash  deem  ungrateful  those  who, 
Called  to  honor  from  the  ^'Boys  in  Blue," 
Yet  owe  much  to  those  comrades  true. 

Who  made  their  calling  sure. 


THE  NATION'S  HOPE. 

(1897.) 

Our  Heavenly  Father,  in  His  love 

For  all  His  children,  small  and  great, 
With  sun  and  rain  doth  bless  the  soil, 
And  bounteous  crops  always  await 
The  gleaners,  when  the  harvest  comes. 
Yet  is  His  just  and  equal  plan. 
Perverted  sad  by  selfish  men; 
Who,  reaping  where  they  have  not  sown. 
Despoiling  others  of  their  own. 
And  "Cornering"  the  products  grown, 
Bring  want  and  woe  to  many  homes. 


68  Reveries. 

The  farmer,  like  the  busy  bee, 

Through  all  the  sultry  summer  heat, 
Goes  forth  the  sweets  to  gather  in. 
That  in  the  winter  he  may  eat. 
In  peace,  the  product  of  his  toil. 
But  restful  in  the  sheltering  hive, 
Resolved  by  others'  sweat  to  thrive, 
The  moth-worm  lies  in  silken  nest. 
And  seizing  for  himself,  the  best, 
Leaves  little  for  that  day  of  rest. 
Well  earned  by  him  who  tills  the  soil. 


The  workingman,  with  dinner-pail. 

Goes  to  his  task  on  Monday  morn — 
Toils  all  the  week,  and  at  its  close. 
Lays  down  his  wage,  bereft  and  shorn 
Of  every  cent,  for  rent  and  bread. 
Meanwhile,  rich  members  of  the  "Trust" 
Now  paying  wages  so  unjust, 
Desire  more  work  done  in  a  day, 
And  seek  to  yet  reduce  the  pay 
Of  those,  who  thus  are  moved  to  say, 
"How  shall  our  little  ones  be  fed  1" 


Reveries.  69 

These  ills,  which  now  so  sore  distress 

Our  body-politic,  wVre  told, 
May  soon  be  cured ;  and  't  might  be  best 

Some  of  the  plans  to  here  unfold, 

Proposed  by  men  of  high  estate. 
A  famous  ^^after-dinner"  sage — 
A  man  who  says  he  works  for  wage. 
And  though  with  millions  laid  in  store, 
Yet  shrewd  directs  vast  millions  more. 
And  who  with  mirth  is  bubbling  o'er. 

Facetiously  did  thus  dilate: 


"What  if  the  few  now  own  the  Earth? 

Yet  is  there  always  ample  room 
For  enterprising  men  with  brains. 

In  that  expanse  this  side  the  moon. 

Known  as  the  region  of  the  air. 
And  for  the  man  who  first  perfects 
An  air-ship,  free  from  all  defects, — 
Since  there's  no  right  of  way  to  buy," 
(They'll  give  us  that — up  in  the  sky,) 
"I  sure  can  see  no  reason  why 

There  is  not  left  a  prospect  rare!" 


70  Reveries. 

This  to  a  press  reporter  shrewd, 

Who  next  inquired  the  reason  true, 
Why  times  were  so  extremely  hard: 
Our  sage  replied,  "  'Tis  wholly  thro' 
Over-production — that's  the  cause!" 
Strange  cause  indeed,  when  analyzed— 
And  the  reporter  looked  surprised. 
That  men  should  pine  for  daily  bread, 
And  wife  and  children  scant  be  fed. 
Because  too  hounteous  the  spread — 
This  is  perversion  of  God's  laws ! 


But  now  a  strong  assurance  comes. 

That  all  these  ills  will  soon  be  healed 
For  millionaires  are  being  installed 
In  national  councils,  and  will  wield 
Marked  influence  o'er  the  public  fate. 
Men  who  a  great  success  have  made 
Of  their  affairs — in  stocks,  or  trade. 
And  who  are  thus  best  fitted  to 
The  work  they  are  engag-ed  to  do. 
Of  helping  this  great  nation  through, 
And  steering  safe  the  Ship  of  State. 


Reveries.  J I 

Devoutly  thankful,  yet  in  doubt, 

I  would,  for  information,  ask — 
Wherein  consists  the  great  success 
That  fits  these  doctors  for  the  task 
Of  treating  our  congested  case? 
Is't  that  they've  practiced  in  the  school 
That's  founded  on  the  Golden  Rule? 
Or  have  they  only  gathered  in, 
And  to  that  rule  indifferent  been. 
And  thus  promoted  the  great  sin 
They're  now  expected  to  efface? 


Two  other  cures  are  advertised. 

Known  as  Protection,  and  Free  Trade : 
But  these  are  ^'Chestnuts" — only  used 
When  sturdy  effort  is  to  be  made, 
To  guy  the  people  for  their  votes. 
The  remedy  which  now  appears 
Most  sought  for  in  these  later  years. 
Is  something  that  will  safe  inflate 
Our  currency,  and  thus  create 
A  surplus  that  will  help  to  break 
This  "Corner"  on  our  treasury  notes. 


72  Reveries. 

But  would  not  then  these  financiers, 
Like  cormorants  in  search  of  prey, 
Swoop  down  upon  the  workingman. 
And  soon  this  surplus  bear  away. 
And  turn  the  keys  on't,  as  before? 
How  would  I  then  this  case  amend? 
What  certain  remedy  commend. 
That  would  a  healthy  tone  impart. 
Brisk  circulation  once  more  start. 
And  thus  relieve  the  Nation's  heart, 
And  bring  contentment,  as  of  yore? 


A  precept  sure  the  Master  gave — 

He  that  was  bom  in  Bethlehem: 
^^As  ye  would  Jia^e  men  do  to  yon, 
So  do  ye,  even  unto  tliemF^ 
This  do,  and  all  these  ills  will  flee. 
Let  Christian  grace  rule  every  heart. 
And  truth  and  justice  hate  their  part ; 
Let  men  regard  each  other's  good, 
And  walking  as  His  followers  should. 
Build  up  a  Christian  brotherhood 
For  time,  and  for  eternity, — 
'Tis  this  alone,  can  make  us  fseb! 


Reveries.  73 

An  early  friend,  who  was  a  magistrate, 
and  a  most  agreeable  and  entertaining  man, 
once  told  a  good  story  of  a  remarkable  legal 
decision  made  by  another  judicial  dignitary, 
which  I  took  a  fancy,  one  day,  to  reduce  to 
rhythm,  as  follows,  under  the  title  of — 


BLIND  JUSTICE. 

The  scales  of  Justice  are,  in  most. 

So  nicely  poised,  that  one 
Could  scarce  a  cause  present,  to  boast 

That  neither  side  had  won. 

Still  less  might  happen  to  be  weighed 
A  case  where  both  sides  win; 

For  costs  accrue,  which  must  be  paid, — 
Some  one  must — "place  the  tin." 

But  that  such  puzzlers  may  arise, 

An  instance  I  append; 
And  that  this  land  the  wit  supplies 

To  meet  them, — please  attend : 


74  Reveries. 

An  old  Dutcli  justice  tried,  one  day, 
A  suit  for  trespass,  which. 

In  point  of  precedent,  they  say, 
Was  thought  exceeding  rich. 


The  evidence  was  the  winning  kind, 

On  both  sides,  it  was  said; 
But  yet,  what  fixed  the  judge's  mind. 

Was  what  the  lawyers  plead. 

As  one  his  client's  cause  espoused, 
In  tones  of  thunder,  which 

The  shades  of  Blackstone  nigh  aroused. 
And  still  arose  in  pitch, — 

The  old  judge  listened,  till  there  shone 

Conviction  on  his  face; 
Then  firmly  said,  in  under  tone, 

"De  blaintiff  win  de  case!" 

But  soon  in  ringing  tones,  was  made. 

On  the  opposing  side, 
A  plea  which  judgment  quickly  stayed, 

And  turned  the  legal  tide : 


Reveries.  75 

For  as  tihe  counsel  mounted  up, 

And  yet  essayed  to  climb, 
The  judge  said,  (and  the  table  struck,) 

"De  'fendant  win  dis  time!" 

But  when  a  joint  appeal  was  brought. 

And  both  for  verdict  plead, 
The  old  man  rose,  with  wisdom  fraught. 

And  this  is  what  he  said : 

"De  blaintiff  an'  defendant,  dey 

Haf,  bot'  dem,  win  de  case! 
De  constable  de  cost  muhst  bay, 

Or  go  to  jail  ten  dayss !" 


The  follo'v\ang  article  was  offered  to  one 
of  the  chief  literary  journals  of  Boston,  but 
the  editor  said  that  as  his  paper  had  a  large 
sale  among  people  who  might  not  feel  as  I 
did,  on  the  subject  treated,  he  thought  best 
not  to  publish  it. 

I  replied :  "Call  my  production  crude,  in- 
ferior,  anything  you   please;   but   do   not 


76  Reveries. 

leave  me  to  infer  that  the  leading  literary 
journal  of  Old  Boston,  the  birthplace  of 
American  Liberty,  the  home  of  the  grand  old 
champions  of  Human  Freedom,  would  con- 
sider it  impolitic  to  publish  a  pen-picture,  if 
well  drawn,  of  that  great  transformation 
scene,  wherein  the  shackles  of  four  millions 
of  bondmen  fall,  at  touch  of  the  sainted 
Lincoln." 

A  REVERIE. 

I  hold  a  picture. in  my  hand, — 

An  artist's  dream,  yet  real : 
The  central  figure  posed,  as  'twere, 

By  touch  of  hands  to  heal. 
Majestic  is  the  lofty  brow, 

Though  furrowed  deep  with  care; 
And  somethiing,  as  of  high  resolve, 

Is  plainly  TVT:'itten  there. 

Strong  is  the  love  for  all  mankind 

Depicted  on  the  face; 
Yet  sense,  as  well,  of  duty  stern, 

'Tis  easy  there  to  trace. 


Reveries.  77 

While  thoughts  politic,  of  the  weal 

Of  country,  havel  their  part ; 
And  over  all,  a  tenderness, — 

True  tenderness  of  heart 


Beside  the  tall,  commanding  form, 

On  either  hand  there  kneels 
A  dusky  figure,  as  in  prayer, 

And  joining  their  appeals. 
Their  wrists  secure  and  fi.rm  are  bound 

With  chain  and  iron  band; 
And  on  each  suppliant's  crispy  head, 

Is  laid  a  gentle  hand. 


My  thoughts  turn  backward,  as  il  gaze, 

To  those  dark  days  of  strife, 
When  Fratricide  recked  little,  that 

It  smote  a  brother's  life. 
And  hanging  o'er  the  tented  field. 

The  promised  bow  I  see. 
Whose  hues  betokened  liberty, 

In  the  "Year  of  Jubilee." 


78  Reveries. 

A  transformation  slowly  steals 

O'er  the  picture  in  my  hands; 
I  see  those  chains  asunder  fall, 

And  from  the  wrists,  the  bands. 
And  all  around  the  central  head, 

A  halo  bright,  is  bent. 
And  in  its  radiance,  Lo!  I  see, 

Our  Martyred  President  ! 


CHAPTER  III, 

OUR  SAVIOR'S  BAPTISM. 

8t.  Matthetv,  Chapt.  UL 

In  far  Judea's  Avilderness, 

Where  flows  the  Jordan  to  its  sea, 

A  plain  man  in  a  plainer  dreiss, 

Bespoke  most  wondrous  things  to  be. 

"Repent  jeV'  was  his  stern  command — 

"Messiah's  kingdom  is  at  hand ! 

Prepare  the  way,  make  His  paths  straight!" 

'Twas  of  this  m'an  Esaias  spake. 

That  plainly  man,  of  saintly  voice, 
The  multitudes  unto  him  drew ; 
To  listen,  was  their  ^Villing  choice — 
Old  prophecies  were  coming  true. 
For  was  not  this  the  voice  of  one 
Who  in  God's  promised  time  should  come? 
He  who  the  tidings  glad  should  bring — 
God's  herald  of  the  coming  King? 


8o  Reveries. 

"Repent  and  be  baptized — prepare! 

For  after  me,  there  cometh  One 
Whose  shoes  I  may  not  worthy  bear ; 

And  who,  when  He'  in  pow'r  doth  come, 
Will  purge  His  floor,  and  gather  in 
His  precious  wheat  into  God's  bin. 
But  will  the  chaff  with  fire  destroy!'' 
Thus  spake  this  Heavenly  envoy. 

"With  water  I  indeed  baptize, 

But  He  that  cometh  after  me. 
The  Holy  Ghost — Heaven's  richest  prize, 

In  baptism  will  bestow  on  thee!" 
And  all  Jerusalem  went  out. 
And  Jordan's  region,  round  about, — 
The  Pharisee  and  Sadducee 
E'en  sought  the  coming  wrath  to  flee. 

A  hush  fell  on  the  waiting  throng, 
A  potent  influence  filled  the  air. 
The  birds  had  ceased  their  choral  song, 

Expectant  hearts  were  quivering  there; 
Yet  none  knew  why,  till  from  the  press 
A  manly  form  of  sweet  address 
The  herald  sought,  to  meekly  crave 
The  baptism  he  the  people  gave. 


Reveries.  8 1 

"O  Son  of  God!  why  comest  tlioii 
To  be  this  day  baptized  of  me? 
More  fitting  far,  that  I  should  bow 

To  earth,  and  be  baptized  of  Thee!" — 
" 'Tis  He — Messiah!    He  is  come!" 
In  thrilling  whispers  breathed  each  one; 
And  hearts,  awe-stricken,  bent  in  prayer : 
The  gates  of  Heaven  had  opened  there. 

But  Christ  replied — for  it  was  He; 

"Nay,  suffer  it  to  be  so  now ! 
Since  in  this  way  fulfilled  may  be 

All  righteousness,  therefore  I  bow!" 
And  Jordan  gained  new  honor  that  day, 
Though  He'd  no  sins  to  wash  away; 
Hence  sacred  is  that  stream  to  those 
Who  in  His  promises  repose. 

But  if  amazed  at  first,  the  throng, 

What  wonder  filled  them  as  they  gazed: 
The  birds  of  air  brake  forth  in  song, 

And  as  all  eyes  to  Heaven  were  raised, 
Behold!  its  gates  were  swung  ajar, 
And  swift  descending,  like  a  star, 
A  spotless  dove  of  purest  white. 
Came  darting  down  a  beam  of  light. 


82  Reveries. 

As  panting  on  His  breast  it  lay, 

While  from  the  water  He  withdrew, 
They  heard  a  voice  from  Heaven  say, 

"This  is  My  Son,  beloved  and  true! 
In  Him  I  am  well  pleased!" — and  then 
There  rose  one  solemn,  deep  amen! — 
That  hour  the  Son  of  Righteousness 
Went  forth  the  waiting  World  to  bless. 


Mother,  Home,  Heaven. 

In  beatific  strains,  theses  three 
Might  well  engage  the  minstrelsy, 

Of  all  this  mundane  sphere. 
Inert  that  heart,  and  cold  indeed. 
Whose  pulse,  responsive^  gives  no  heed. 

These  sacred  words  to  hear. 

My  Mother!  how  that  holy  name, 
Across  the  chasm  of  sin  and  shame, 

Which  I  have  placed  between; 
Comes  to  me  on  the  morning  air, 
And  through  the  sultry  noonday  glare. 

And  in  my  midnight  dream. 


Reveries.  83 

The  world  has  cast  adrift  her  boy, 
His  heart  is  hard,  and  there's  no  joy 

That  thrills  his  callous  breast ; 
But  messages  of  love  still  come 
From  Mother,  in  the  dear  old  home, 

Inviting  to  its  rest. 

To  rest  at  Home !    Ah,  can  it  be, 
That  'neath  the  dear  Old  Family  Tree, 

I'll  sit  again — forgiven? 
And  kneeling  by  my  mother's  side, 
Kelinquishing  my  stubborn  pride, 

Start  out  anew,  for  Heaven? 

That  land  jf  endless  peace  and  joy, 
Where  streams  of  bliss  without  alloy, 

Flow  ever  to  the  blest ; 
Where  souls  from  sin  find  a  release. 
The  wicked  from  all  troubling  cease. 

The  weary  are  at  rest. 

Away !  false  pride  and  sin,  away ! 
No  more  unto  your  blighting  sway ! 

Yield  I,  a  devotee ! 
But  guided  by  a  mother's  hand, 
At  home,  I'll  seek  that  Better  Land — 

I  make  my  choice,  these  three  ! 


/ 

/ 


84  Reveries. 

IN  CHARITY. 

St.  John,  Chapt.  viii, 

A  lithe  and  graceful  form,  in  comely  robe, 
With  golden  tresses  that  now  half  concealed 
A  face,  tho'  weak,  yet  very  fair  and  sad, 
Where  shame  o'er  innocence  exultant  rode 
On  blushes  hot,  that  tears  could  not  efface ; 
Her  sin,  a  yielding  to  the  tempter's  voice. 
Her  shrewd  accusers,  with  a  purpose  hid. 
Had  led  her,  sorrowing,  on  that  lovely  morn, 
Unto  The  Temple,  where  the  Savior  taught. 
That  from  His  kindly  lips  they  might  report 
A  verdict  adverse  to  the  Jewish  law. 

As  teaching,  on  His  words  the  people  hung, 
And  glad  received  the  bread  of  life  He  brake, 
Those  wily  Pharisees  their  captive  brought, 
And  placed  her  in  the  midst.— "O  Master! 
This  frail  one  now  before  Thee,  we  accuse 
Of  conduct,  whereof  Moses'  sacred  law 
Decrees  the  guilty  culprit  must  be  stoned ; 
What  sayest  Thou?"— He  saw  th'  intent. 
And  bending  o'er,  with  finger  listless  wrote 


Reveries.  85 

Upon  the  eartih,  asj  if  He  heard  them  not. 
Persisting  still  for  answer,  He  looked  up, 
And  with  a  calm  indifference  to  them  spake : 
"He  that  is  sinless  now  among  you  all, 
Let  him  be  first  to  cast  at  her  a  stone !" — 
And  then  He  wrote  again  upon  the  sand. 

What  accusations  smote  those  crafty  hearts ; 
What  memories  of  the  recreant  past  arose. 
How  in  their  souls  His  words  burned  deep ; 
And  though  His  eyes  to  earth  were  turned. 
Yet  how  they  felt  Him  read  each  sinful  life, 
And  closely  scan  the  failing  each  would  hide. 
With  self-accusing  they  in  turn  went  out, — 
The  eldest  first,  and  thus  on  to  the  last ; 
And  Jesus,  left  alone,  rose  up  and  saw 
The  woman  standing  in  the  open  space. 
The  tearful  eye,  the  contrite  sigh  and  moan, 
His  kindly  heart  with  deepest  pity  moved ; 
And  looking  back  upon  her  past.  He  saw 
The  tempter  strong  assail  the  weaker  will. 
And  thus — and  thus,  she  fell. 

In  calm,  benignant  tone,  the  Savior  spake: 
"O  Woman !  whence  are  thine  accusers  fled? 
Hath  no  man  condemned  theef — 


86  Reveries. 

"Nay,  Lord,  no  man !"  she  passively  replied. 
^^N either  do  I  condemn  thee!  Go  thy  way, 
And  sin  no  more  !" 


"Suffer  Little  Children — " 
^t.  Mark,  Chapt.  x. 

Why  trouble  ye  the  Master  now? 
Can  ye  not  see  that  on  His  brow 
There  rests  a  look  of  wan  distress, — 
That  He  is  faint  with  weariness? 

Why  bring  the  little  ones  to-day? 
Far  better  leave  them  at  their  play ; 
With  joyous  health  their  faces  glow — 
Those  ruddy  forms  no  suffering  know ! 

But  see  ye  not  the  blind  and  lame, 
The  palsied  who  for  healing  came, 
The  sick  ones  moaning  their  distress? 
These  all  now  on  the  Master  press. 

And  would  ye  add  unto  His  task. 
By  pressing  forward,  but  to  ask 
A  blessing  on  those  little  heads, 
On  whom  your  love  its  blessing  sheds? 


Reveries.  87 

i 
'Twas  thus  the  kind  disciples  spake, 
And  stayed,  for  their  dear  Master's  sake, 
The  mothers,  who  with  pious  zeal 
Came  at  the  Savior's  feet  to  kneel. 

He  heard,  and  as  that  careu^om  fa^e 
To  look  of  tenderest  love  gave  place, 
With  open  arms,  in  thrilling  voice. 
He  bade  those  mothers'  hearts  rejoice: 

"O  suffer  ye  the  little  ones ! 
Forbid  them  not,  but  let  them  come! 
Of  such  is  Heaven's  kingdom  fair ! 
No  other  gems  of  earth,  so  rare ! 

"Except  your  hearts  like  theirs  become, 
Ye  cannot,  when  life's  work  is  done, 
Join  in  the  anthems  of  the  blest, 
In  that  Eternal  Land  of  Rest !" 

And  in  His  loving  arms,  were  laid 
The  cherub  boy,  and  tiny  babe; 
And  gently  on  each  little  head, 
A  blessing  from  His  lips,  was  shed. 


88  Reveries. 


The  Modern  Samaritan. 
{Adapted  from  Luke,  w.) 

A  certain  man  went  down  to  York — 
Perhaps  to  see  the  bus^^  town — 

Perhaps  he  went  in  searcli  of  work; 
But  certain  'tis,  he  ran  agronnd, 
Among  the  thieves  of  York. 

At  midnight  hour  they  gave  him  beer, 
Envenomed  with  vile  "knockout  drops;" 

They  beat  him  to  his  death,  quite  near, 
Then  robbed  him  of  his  purse  and  watch, 
And  threw  him  in  the  street. 

The  sun,  next  morning,  rose  less  clear, 
And  looked  in  pity  on  the  scene, 

While  Nature  stooped  to  drop  a  tear 
O'er  him,  who  all  his  life  had  been 
An  honest  workingman. 


Reveries.  89 

A  deacon  of  a  clm^cli  uptown, 

Came  rolling  hj,  in  th'  morning  gray — 
He  saw  the  man,  and  with  a  frown. 

Quick  reined  his  steed  across  the  way. 
And  passed,  on  the  other  side. 


A  learned  ^'D.D."  came  next  along — 
A  man  who  from  the  sacred  desk, 
Essays  to  prove  by  logic  strong, 
That  God's  own  Book  is  not  the  best 
That  could  have  been  produced: 

He  saw  the  bruised  and  prostrate  form, 
Yet  raised  no  kindly  hand  to  aid; 

But  turned  away  with  look  of  scorn, 
And  passing  by,  contemptuous  said, 
^^It  is  the  work  of  Rum !" 


Next  came  a  coal  man,  with  his  cart. 
Whose  face  the  grime  of  labor  bore ; 

Yet  'neath  whose  coat,  there  beat  a  heart 
As  warm  as  human  breast  e'er  wore — 
He  paused,  to  view  the  scene. 


QO  Reveries. 

That  kindly  heart,  a  fellow  man — 
A  stranger  saw,  in  deep  distress : 

A  father,  whose  dear  ones,  e'en  then, 
Might  waiting  be  for  his  caress, 
When  he  should  safe  return. 


With  tender  care  that  son  of  toil 

Knelt  by  the  prostrate  stranger's  side, 

And  tho'  he  lacked  the  "wine  and  oil," 
Yet  in  his  unskilled  way,  he  tried 

To  bind  the  wounds  disclosed. 


With  careful  hand,  he  placed  him  in 
Hiis  humble  cab,  and  drove  away ; 

That  in  his  own  home,  he  might  win 
Him  back  to  life  again,  that  day. 

And  spare  him  to  his  friends. 


Which  now,  was  neighbor — of  the  three. 
To  him  that  fell  among  the  thieves? 

Sure  he  that  mercy  showed,  must  be 
The  man  who  in  your  heart  receives 
The  verdict — one  day  prized ! 


Reveries. 


91 


That  day,  when  at  His  just  decrees, 
Men  from  before  His  face  shall  flee : — 

'^For  inasmuch  as  not  to  these, 
Ye  likewise  did  it  not  to  Me, — 
Depart  !  I  know  you  not  !" 


The  Rescue,  and  the  Saved. 

Night's  shadows  rest  upon  the  deep, 
The  earth  is  wrapt  in  sleep  profound ; 

While  angel  bands  their  vigils  keep, 
The  watchman  walks  his  lonely  round. 

A  lurid  light  attracts  his  gaze — 

"Sure  that  is  not  the  waning  moon !" 

Still  brighter  grows  the  humid  haze — 
"Has  morning  dawn  arrived  so  soon?" 

'Tis  Fire!  Fire!  Some  home's  on  fire! 

Call  the  brave  laddies  for  the  fight ! 
Its  flames  are  leaping  high  and  higher — 

Quick,  la  ds !  a  home's  in  flames  to-night ! 


92  Reveries. 

The  figlit  is  on — the  swish  and  hum, 
The  hiss  of  steam,  and  shouts  of  men, 

Proclaim  the  conflict  has  begun — 
But  hear  that  cry — ^again !  again ! 

It  breaks  upon  the  midnight  air. 

In  thrilling  tones,  and  accents  wild — 

"My  child  is  up  that  burning  stair ! 
Oh,  save !  oh,  save  my  darling  child !" 

"I'll  go !  I'll  go !"  a  brave  lad  cries : 

"Boys,  keep  a  stream  lightly  on  me !" — 

With  eager  haste,  aloft  he  hies. 
The  flame-imprisoned  child  to  free. 

Oh,  dread  suspense! — But  look — up  there! 

The  child,  wrapt  snugly  from  all  harm. 
Is  borne  adown  that  blazing  stair, 

And  safely  laid  in  its  mother's  arms. 

A  shout  goes  up,  but  the  "Well  done !" 
Thrills  not  the  hero's  failing  ear ; 

The  burned  and  dying  form  sinks  down. 
While  angels  bend,  these  words  to  hear : 


Reveries.  93 

"Mother ! — Savior ! — coming ! — com — " 
And  flown  to  Him  by  whom  'twas  given, 

A  hero-soul — its  life  work  done, 

Has  joined  th'  angelic  hosts  of  Heaven. 


Lazarus  The  Beggar. 
St.  Luke^  CJiapt.  xvi. 

'Tw^as  noon — a  summer  day. 
The  balmy  air,  with  fragrant  odors  filled, 
Gloved  lazily,  and  thro'  the  graceful  palms 
Soft  sighed  to  murmur  of  the  crystal  fount, 
Where  birds  of  colors  gay  the  pinion  laved. 
Disporting  in  the  rainbow-tinted  spray ; 
And  ever  and  anon,  with  voice  refreshed, 
Ascended  to  the  leafy  bowers  overhead. 
To  warble  forth  their  notes  of  joyful  praise. 
While  from  within  the  stately  palace  walls. 
In  dulcet  strains,  the  notes  of  lute  and  harp 
Stole  on  the  ear ;  and  trip  of  hurrying  feet. 
And  clink  of  wares,  and  odors  of  choice  fare, 
Bespoke  the  rich  man  at  his  midday  feast. 


94  Reveries. 

Two  massive  columns  stood, 
Superb  in  marbles  graced  by  sculptor's  art, 
Like  sentinels,  on  either  side,  to  guard 
The  entrance  to  this  passing  fair  domain ; 
And  cedars  from  historic  Lebanon's  groves, 
Lent  a  rich  shading  to  th'  enchanting  scene. 
While  all  within  of  lavish  bounty  spake, 
The  beggar  Lazarus,  hungered,  lay  outside. 
Desiring  to  be  fed  of  th'  crumbs  that  fell 
Beside  the  rich  man's  board.     But  all  in 

vain; 
And  only  canine  strays  their  pity  showed, 
As  at  the  gate  he  breathed  his  plaint. 


That  night  the  beggar  died — 
Or  what  we  here  call  death,  his  pulses  stilled. 
But  Lazarus  woke  in  Paradise.    And  there, 
With  early  vigor  health  and  hope  renewed — 
No  pangs  of  hunger  gnawing  at  his  heart, 
No  spurning  of  the  haughty  rich  man's  foot, 
He  breathed  th'  inspiring  air  that  flows 
O'er  sether  plains  with  healing  on  its  wings ; 
And  basking  in  elysian  fields,  bestrown 
With  beauties  rare,  unto  the  earth  unknown, 


Reveries.  95 

His  thirst  allayed  at  limpid  fountains  pure ; 
While  noble  men  sincere,  and  women  true, 
The  hand  of  fellowship  most  cordial  gave: 
And  one  of  royal  mien — e'en  Abraham, 
Became  his  bosom  friend. 

Secure,  with  goods  laid  up  for  many  years. 
In  pompous  ease  the  rich  man  sat,  com- 
posed ; 
Nor  deemed  that  aught  could  mar  his  peace. 
Within  those  palace  walls.    O  vain  conceit ! 
One  day  the  angel  Death,  a  shaft  let  fly. 
And   thro'   the  walls,   it  pierced   his   iron 

heart ; 
And   sinking   down,   he  died,   as   dies   the 

least. 
The  lowest  thing  on  earth,  at  God's  decree. 
But  in  the  realms  of  pain  his  soul  awoke; 
And  seeing  Lazarus  from  afar,  implored 
His  royal  friend  to  send  him  to  his  aid, 
That  he  might  soothe  his  woes. 

But  Abraham  replied; 
"Remember,  Son  !  that  in  thy  lifetime  thou. 
Ungrateful  all  thy  bounties  didst  receive, 


96  Reveries. 

While  unto  him  whose  services  ye  crave, 
Came  only  evil.    He  is  happy  now, 
While  thou,  reciprocal,  his  pains  dost  bear. 
Besides,  unlike  as  in  our  former  sphere, 
A  bound  impassable  is  strictly  set 
Betwixt  the  good  and  ill ;  so  that  none  may 
To  thee  go  hence,  or  thou  come  thence." 

Imploring  still,  the  rich  man  further  spake : 
"A  warning  to  my  brothers  yet  on  earth 
I  fain  would  send,  lest  they  come  also  here ! 
Oh,  grant  some  child  of  light  may  bear 
A  message  to  them  there !''    In  tender  tone 
God's  saint  replied,  ''They  have  the  books 
Of  Moses  and  the  Prophets  for  their  guide ; 
Scarce  would  they  heed  one  from  the  dead, 
If  not  the  warnings  that  the  Prophets  gave," 
And  thus  the  colloquy  was  closed. 


The  following  lines  were  suggested  by 
the  reply  of  Hon.  James  G.  Blaine,  candi- 
date for  President  of  the  United  States  of 


Reveries.  97 

America,   in   1884,    to   the  inquiry   as   to 
whether  or  not  he  was  a  Catholic. 

The  Lamp  Still  Burns. 

What  sought  they  thus  afar? 

Bright  jewels  of  the  mine? 
The  wealth  of  seas?  the  spoils  of  war? 

They  sought  a  faith^s  pure  shrine. 
Aye!  call  it  holy  ground — 

The  soil  where  first  they  trod; 
They  left  unstained  what  there  they  found, 

Freedom  to  worship  God! 

— Mrs.  Hemans. 


And  has  that  sacred  trust 

Been  guarded  faithfully, 
And  saved  from  time's  decay  and  dust, 

By  the  sons  born  of  the  Free? 
Or  has  the  flight  of  years. 

And  bitter  war  of  creeds. 
Despoiled  the  temple,  laid  in  tears, 

And  reared  by  noblest  deeds? 


98  Reveries. 

Has  that  intolerance  dire, 

From  wliicli  they  fled  before, 
Quenched  out  the  sacred  beacon-fire, 

Left  bright  on  Plymouth's  shore? 
Or  burns  there  yet  upon 

Columbia's  holy  shrine. 
That  Lamp  of  Hope,  hailed  by  men  from 

The  lands  of  every  clime? 

Three  centuries — almost, 

Have  flown,  since  first  was  heard, 
Along  that  stern  and  rock-bound  coast, 

Those  hymns  the  echoes  stirred ; 
But  that  the  lamp  still  burns, — 

The  hope  of  the  distressed. 
Who  toward  its  radiance  gladly  turn, 

From  every  land  oppressed ; 

Recall  the  words  of  him — 

Columbia's  gifted  son ; 
Whose  fame,  which  time  can  never  dim, 

Is  more  than  victory  won. 
Whose  faith  in  things  divine, 

Draws  not  the  narrow  bound. 
But  looks  the  works  of  grace  to  find 

Wherever  church  is  found : 


Reveries.  99 

"A  Presbyterian  stalid, 

My  sire,  of  the  olden  line; 
My  mother's  vows  were  daily  paid 

At  the  Blessed  Virgin's  shrine. 
In  the  church  paternal,  learned 

I  first  from  out  the  \Yord ; 
And  later,  lO  that  fold  I  turned, 

To  worship  there,  the  Lord. 

"Yet  not  for  all  there  be 

In  the  Presidential  name, 
(Though  given  a  thousand-fold  to  me,) 

Of  honor,  wealth,  and  fame, 
Would  I  offences  give. 

Or  rash  that  faith  deride. 
By  which  my  mother  sweetly  lived, 

In  which  she  peaceful  died." 


CHAPTER  IV, 

LIFE    ON    THE    FARM. 

When  I  returned  from  the  war,  I  took 
up  teaching  again  for  a  time,  but  my  par- 
ents were  getting  old,  and  I  was  needed  at 
home;  and,  in  keeping  with  a  vow  I  made 
when  recovering  from  a  serious  sickness 
while  in  my  country's  service,  I  responded 
to  the  call  of  filial  duty. 

During  those  days  of  convalescence 
aboard  ship,  I  fell  to  meditating  on  the  dis- 
appointments and  heart-aches  I  had  caused 
my  parents,  and  that  even  then  they  were 
sitting  lonely  in  the  old  home,  mourning 
for  one  son  dead,  and  the  other  far  away, 
mid  scenes  of  strife  that  might  never  give 
him  back  to  them  again;  and  I  then  made 
the  vow,  that  whatever  my  tastes  and  aspir- 
ations, if  I  ever  reached  home  again,  I  would 


Reminiscences.  loi 

remain  with  them  through  their  declining 
years. 

That  vow  was  faithfully  kept.  I  duly  as- 
sumed the  management  of  the  farm,  at  the 
same  time  continuing  my  scientific  studies, 
which  I  am  in  truth  compelled  to  say,  some- 
times received  more  attention  than  the  grow- 
ing crops.  But  under  my  father's  direction, 
and  profiting  by  his  advice,  I  made  a  living 
for  us — and  that  was  all. 

Soon  after  deciding  to  settle  down,  I  mar- 
ried a  young  lady  from  Albany,  N.  Y. — Miss 
H.  Alida  Bradt,  a  granddaughter  of  Gen. 
S.  G.  Sager,  who  was  a  prominent  man  of 
his  day,  and  a  large  landholder  in  the  Hud- 
son valley. 

She  was  willing  to  share  with  me,  "Life 
on  the  farm,'^  and  we  soon  found  ourselves 
members  of  a  very  pleasant  set  of  young 
married  people,  with  whom  we  enjoyed 
many  happy  social  events,  which  are  still 
bright  places  in  our  memory. 

We  indulged  in  parties,  picnics,  drives, 
sails  on  the  beautiful  Canadarago  Lake; 
and  having  early  learned  to  play  the  organ, 


I02  Reminiscences. 

and  also  to  read  vocal  music  fairly  well,  I 
was  chosen  for  many  years  to  serve  as  chor- 
ister, or  leader  of  the  musical  part  of  our 
church  service;  and  our  weekly  meetings 
for  choir  practice  were  always  pleasant  oc- 
casions. 

Thus  life  ran  smoothly  with  us,  it  being 
only  diversified  by  my  struggles  and  disap- 
pointments in  the  field  of  invention,  to 
which  reference  is  made  in  the  introductory 
pages  of  this  volume,  and  an  occasional  dis- 
covery or  triumph  in  the  physical  investi- 
gation I  was  pursuing.  So  there  is  little  to 
relate  of  interest  to  the  reader,  till  we  come 
to  the  important  event  which  broke  up  this 
period  of  calm,  and  enlisted  me  more  active- 
ly in  the  cause  to  which  I  have  given  the 
best  thought  and  effort  of  the  best  years  of 
my  life. 

Both  of  my  parents  and  my  uncle  were 
dead,  and  my  promise  to  remain  on  the  farm 
no  longer  held  me;  yet  still  I  tarried  in  the 
old  home,  which  was  endeared  to  me  by  so 
many  ties,  old  and  new.  But  a  swift  stroke 
of  Providence  changed  my  course,  which 


Reminiscences.  103 

approaches  so  nearly  to  the  miraculous, 
that  I  will  recount  the  circumstance  for  the 
benefit  of  those  who  no  longer  believe  that 
God  is  able  to  work  miracles;  forgetting 
that  their  own  bodies,  with  their  various 
capabilities,  are  more  wonderful  works  of 
his  hand,  than  those  recorded  events  of 
Sacred  History  which  they  seek  to  dis- 
credit. 

A  PERILOUS  INCIDENT. 

The  event  of  which  I  write,  came  about, 
in  this  wise: — My  eldest  son,  then  twelve 
years  old,  and  myself,  seated  on  a  high  load 
of  farm  produce,  w^ere  coming  down  quite  a 
steep  declivity  in  the  highway,  at  the  foot 
of  which  was  a  broad  and  stony  water-chan- 
nel, spanned  by  a  wooden  bridge.  In  mak- 
ing this  descent,  something  about  the  wagon 
gave  away,  and  the  load  came  against  the 
horses,  a  young  and  spirited  pair,  and  with 
an  uncontrollable  frenzy,  they  dashed  at 
full  speed  down  the  hill. 

On  reaching  the  bridge  the  load  came  in 
contact  with  the  side  railing,  which  stopped 


I04  Reminiscences. 

the  wagon  instantly,  freeing  the  horses,  who 
continued  their  flight,  and  firing  me,  as 
from  a  catapult,  diagonally  over  the  railing 
of  the  bridge,  and  on  an  inclined  curve 
across  the  channel,  against  the  base  of  the 
opposite  bridge-pier,  full  forty  feet  from  my 
elevated  place  on  the  load. 

I  was  taken  up  insensible,  and  apparently 
crushed;  and  though  found  to  be  still  liv- 
ing, yet  the  physicians  who  were  called,  con- 
sidering the  nature  and  extent  of  my  in- 
juries, and  the  fearful  force  with  which  I 
was  projected  across  the  chasm  against  the 
stone  pier,  could  not  see  how,  in  the  name 
of  Science,  my  life  could  be  spared. 

But  a  healing  power  whose  potency  is  no 
less  to-day,  than  when  it  enforced  the  com- 
mand, "Lazarus,  come  forth!"  blessed  the 
human  agencies  employed  for  my  recovery, 
and  to  the  surprise  of  all,  I  was  restored  to 
health  and  strength  again;  and  but  for  a 
broken  limb,  which  took  a  little  more  time 
to  mend,  I  might  within  three  weeks  from 
the  time  of  the  accident,  have  mingled  once 
more  with  my  fellow  men. 


Reminiscences.  105 

But  the  learned  skeptic,  employing  the 
Irishman's  logic,  will  remind  me  that  it  is 
not  the  distance  nor  force  of  the  fall  that  in- 
flicts the  harm,  but  the  mode  and  conditions 
of  alighting;  and  that  I  doubtless  struck 
the  soft  side  of  the  pier,  which  spared  me 
from  fatal,  though  not  from  severe  injuries; 
which  view  of  the  circumstance  would  seem 
to  divest  it  of  its  remarkable  features. 

Assuming  that  the  modern  logician 
would  dispose  thus  readily  of  the  matter, 
in  so  far  as  it  pertains  to  myself,  I  will  now 
give  him  something  a  little  harder : — My 
son  shared  my  elevated  seat  with  me  when 
the  terrible  shock  came,  and  what  became 
of  him? 

Driven  by  the  same  impulse,  he  naturally 
went  in  the  same  direction  as  myself,  but 
came  a  little  short  of  the  bridge-pier  against 
which  I  landed,  and  fell  among  the  rocks 
and  bowlders  which  covered  the  bottom  of 

the  nearly  dried  up  water-course; and 

from  that  fearful  plunge  he  came  forth  as 
unscathed  as  though  he  had  simply  fallen 


io6  Reminiscences. 

from  his  hed  into  cm  air  pillow; — not  even 
a  scratchy  or  rent,  or  a  button  off! 

The  physician  who  attended  me,  and  a 
score  of  other  reputable  people  who  are  liv- 
ing at  this  writing,  will  readily  testify  to 
the  truth  of  the  statement  I  have  made ;  and 
yet  the  language  of  approved  wisdom  in  the 
present  age  is,  that  all  results  are  brought 
about  by  the  undeviating  operation  of  natu- 
ral laws — that  like  causes  produce  like  ef- 
fects, and  that  God  cannot,  or  will  not,  at 
any  time  interpose  a  special  providence. 

This  incident  virtually  brought  about  the 
change  in  my  affairs  which  I  had  been  con- 
templating, but  lacked  the  decision  to  make. 
I  sold  a  portion  of  the  farm,  retaining  the 
homestead  part,  and  at  the  age  of  forty,  I 
removed  to  a  neighboring  village,  and  gave 
my  whole  time  to  the  work  of  my  choice. 

ENTERING  THE  LECTURE  FIELD. 

The  subject  of  Electricity  had,  within 
the  few  years  previous  received  quite  an 
impetus,    through    the    practical    develop- 


Reminiscences.  107 

ment  of,  and  remarkable  results  obtained 
from  the  telephone  and  the  electric  light. 
Other  discoveries  quickly  followed,  which 
a  previous  smattering  of  the  science  in  gen- 
eral, enabled  me  to  appreciate,  and  I  soon 
fell  to  keeping  abreast  with  the  times,  by 
carefully  reading  and  studying  the  leading 
electrical  journals  of  the  day. 

I  became  so  impressed  with  the  need  of  a 
more  general  diffusion  of  knowledge  on 
this  important  subject,  that  I  was  soon  pre- 
paring a  lecture,  which  treated  in  a  plain, 
non-technical  way  on  both  its  theoretical 
and  its  practical  phases,  which  was  com- 
pleted in  due  course  of  time,  and  called, 
"Electricity,  theoretical  and  applied." 

I  decided  to  go  before  the  public  with  this 
lecture,  for  the  reason  that  I  believed  in  so 
doing  I  would  be  imparting  useful  informa- 
tion, and  might  also  gain  such  experience, 
and  perhaps  financial  return,  as  would  as- 
sist me  in  the  preparation  and  presentation 
of  the  more  important  Avork  on  which  I  had 
been  so  long  engaged. 

I  purchased  a  fine  stereopticon  for  illus- 


io8  Reminiscences. 

trating,  of  tlie  famous  makers,  J.  W.  Queen 
&  Co.,  of  Philadelphia ;  securing  at  no  little 
trouble  and  expense  a  set  of  views  specially 
prepared  to  assist  in  cleaxly  presenting  my 
subject,  and  thus  equipped,  I  launched  this 
enterprise  with  zeal  for  its  success. 

But  my  audiences,  though  always  select, 
were  never  large,  and  I  soon  found  that  this 
lecture,  like  my  present  astronomical  series, 
was  cor^iderably  ahead  of  the  times — the 
people  yet  regarded  electricity  as  something 
so  subtle  and  mysterious,  that  it  w^ould  be 
utterly  useless  for  them  to  listen  to  any  dis- 
sertation on  lit,  much  less  try  to  compre- 
hend it;  and  when,  after  illustrating  and 
explaining  the  wonderful  results  already  at- 
tained, I  would  soar  to  untried  fields,  by 
predicting  its  application  to  the  street  car, 
and  to  the  w^orkshop,  and  suggesting  that 
waterfalls,  river  currents,  &c.,  would  yet 
be  harnessed  to  generate  electric  currents 
for  transmitting  their  wasted  power  to  dis- 
tant and  more  desirable  points,  they  just 
knowingly  said,  ^'The  man  is  an  enthusiast, 
a  visionary,  a  crank !"  and  they  gave  me  al- 


Reminiscences.  109 

most  as  wide  a  berth  as  the  wise  mem  of  to- 
day are  giving  me  on  the  subject  discussed 
in  subsequent  chapters  of  this  volume. 

But  those  predictions  have  all  been  real- 
ized— those  wonderful  results  are  with  us 
to-day;  and  thanks  to  the  ingenuity,  skill, 
and  enterprise  displayed  by  mankind,  when 
once  their  prejudice  is  overcome,  and  their 
interest  aroused,  they  came  sooner  than 
even  I  had  hoped  or  predicted. 

And  yet  the  work  in  this  popular  branch 
of  human  achievement  goes  on,  while  the 
votaries  of  a  still  grander  science  are  rest- 
ing inertly  on  a  theory  whose  tenets  lack 
the  support  of  true  physical  demonstration, 
and  are  antagonistic  to  the  words  of  Holy 
Writ. 

FORTUNE  STILL  COY. 

My  early  estimate  of  the  importance  of 
acquiring  worldly  means  to  assist  me  in 
promoting  my  work  was  still  entertained, 
and  learning,  through  the  electric  journals, 
that  the  public  was  already  becoming  inter- 


no  Reminiscences. 

ested  in  the  problem  of  operating  railways 
by  electricity,  I  entered  the  promising  field 
of  invention  thus  thrown  open,  and  early  in 
the  contest  evolved  an  electric  railway  sys- 
tem, and  applied  for  letters  patent,  which 
were  however  refused  at  first,  on  account 
of  some  technical  error  in  the  application. 

But  several  months  after\\^ard  I  received 
a  communication  from  a  gentleman  in  New 
York,  informing  me  that  he  was  one  of  the 
examiners  in  the  electrical  division  of  the 
U.  S.  Patent  Office,  at  the  time  my  applica- 
tion was  taken  up  and  disposed  of;  that  he 
had  since  resigned  his  position,  and  appre- 
ciating the  importance  of  my  invention,  and 
its  just  claims  to  recognition,  if  such  claims 
were  properly  presented,  he  desired  to  make 
a  business  proposal  for  reopening  the  case, 
and  prosecuting  my  claims  to  a  success^ful 
issue,  for  an  interest  in  the  patent,  when  it 
should  be  granted. 

The  gentleman's  business  standing  being 
found  satisfactory,  I  accepted  his  offer,  and 
he  in  due  time  succeeded  in  obtaining  let- 
ters patent,  which  embodied  a  good  strong 


Reminiscences.  1 1 1 

set  of  claims ;  and  being  so  early  in  the  field, 
we  naturally  hoped  for  a  bountiful  return 
when  the  reaping  time  should  come. 

But  as  capital  always  moves  cautiously 
in  the  direction  of  innovations,  little  head- 
way was  made  with  electric  railroading  for 
several  years;  and  in  the  meantime  a  man 
in  Philadelphia  set  up  a  counter  claim  to 
priority  of  invention,  and  actually  had  an 
interference  case  declared  between  his  ap- 
plication and  my  existing  patent,  then  over 
two  years  old. 

We  defended  the  case  before  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Patents,  by  presenting  a  clear 
and  concise  statement  of  duly  attested 
facts ;  but  our  opponent,  aided  by  a  voluble 
tongue,  a  lively  imagination,  and  an  elastic 
conscience,  won  the  case,  and  Justice  once 
more  showed  that  she  was  blind. 

Electric  railways  by  this  time  began  to 
assume  practical  form,  and  considerable  at- 
tention was  being  given  to  necessary  details. 
Prominently  among  others,  a  comparatively 
noiseless  and  anti-friction  gearing  for  trans- 
mitting the  power  from  the  motor  shaft  to 


112  Reminiscences. 

the  car  axle,  was  sought  for.  I  devised  and 
constructed  a  gear  to  meet  these  demand's, 
which  I  embodied  in  a  working  model  of 
my  earlier  railway  system,  and  came  to 
New  York  with  it,  calling  first  at  the  office 
of  the  leading  electrical  journal  of  America, 
if  not  of  the  world,  at  that  time. 

The  proprietors  of  this  journal  com- 
mended, and  seemed  well  pleased  with  my 
work;  and  on  learning  that  I  washed  to  ex- 
hibit it  to  the  various  electric  companies  in 
the  city  which  w^ere  becoming  interested  in 
electric  railway  systems,  they  kindly  gave 
me  a  general  letter  of  introduction,  which 
gained  me  a  cordial  reception  wherever  I 
went;  and  after  considering  the  matter  for 
a  few  days,  they  became  so  impressed  with 
the  value  of  my  invention,  that  they  offered 
to  get  it  patented  and  introduce  it  to  the 
public  through  the  medium  of  their  journal, 
for  a  one- third  share;  which  offer  I  ac- 
cepted. 

I  returned  to  my  home  in  most  excellent 
spirits,  feeling  that  a  satisfactory  solution 
of  the  financial  part  of  the  problem  was  well 


Reminiscences.  113 

t 

nigh  assured.  My  invention  had  been  seen, 
examined,  and  warmly  commended  by  the 
various  companies  I  visited,  and  I  received 
such  kind  courtesy  at  their  hands,  that  nat- 
urally I  felt  very  much  encouraged.  And 
when  the  publishers  of  the  foremost  electric 
journal  of  the  day  decided,  after  a  careful 
examination  as  to  its  utility  and  originality, 
to  interest  themselves  in  it,  I  could  not  but 
feel  that  my  visit  to  the  metropolis  had 
been  a  highly  successful,  as  well  as  a  pleas- 
ant one. 

I  was  living  in  the  city  of  Utica,  N.  Y.,  at 
the  time,  and  in  a  few  days  after  reaching 
home  I  received  a  neatly  drawn  up  form  of 
application  for  letters  patent,  which  I  duly 
executed  and  returned  to  the  gentlemen, 
and  they  sent  it  at  once  to  the  Patent  Ofi&ce. 

The  season  was  the  early  Spring-time, 
and  the  pleasant  days  sped  swiftly  by,  with 
hope  on  their  wings.  April  melted  into 
May,  that  month  of  verdure  into  the  "Month 
of  Roses,''  and  when  the  balmy  air  was  filled 
with  the  mellow  sunlight,  the  perfume  of 
flowers,  and  glad  notes  of  song-birds,  with 


114  Reminiscences. 

wliicli  my  heart  was  in  happy  tune,  a  mes- 
sage came  one  day,  which  tinged  this  bright 
prospect  with  the  leaden  hues  of  December. 
The  communication  was  from  the  Patent 
Office,  and  inclosed  reference-drawings  and 
description  of  an  earlier  device  slumbering 
on  the  record,  which  though  lacking  those 
practical  essentials  to  success  contained  in 
mine,  was  yet  enough  like  it  in  principle,  to 
lead  to  the  rejection  of  my  application — 
and  another  bubble  was  pierced. 

TRUTH,    OF    HUMBLE    ORIGIN. 

Not  disposed,  however,  to  relinquish  the 
struggle,  I  renewed  a  correspondence  with 
a  manufacturing  firm  in  a  neighboring  city 
with  reference  to  another  invention  of  mine, 
and  at  their  invitation  to  visit  them,  set  out 
again,  with  strong  hope  of  making  a  satis- 
factory business  arrangement.  But  failing 
in  this  also,  I  returned  to  my  homs,  there  to 
find  verified  the  old  adage,  that  disappoint- 
ments and  troubles  never  come  singly — my 
youngest  son,  a  lad  of  ten  years,  had  lain  in 


Reminiscences.  115 

a  semi-conscious  state  for  several  hours,  and 
the  physician  who  was  promptly  called,  pro 
nounced  him  dangerously  sick. 

Swift  transition  for  me,  indeed !  So  late- 
ly basking  in  the  sunsliine  of  a  calm,  confi- 
dent and  happy  hope!  So  soon  sitting 
bowed  and  broken  amid  its  ruins! 

Summoning  all  my  remaining  energy,  I 
quickly  rallied  from  this  three-fold  blow, 
and  with  parental  solicitude  turned  to  the 
rescue  of  my  boy ;  and  tho'  the  Dark  Angel 
at  times  hovered  very  near,  yet  his  life  was 
spared,  and  aided  by  the  skilled  and  faith- 
ful physician,  we  slowly  nursed  him  back 
to  health  and  strength  again. 

Then  I  held  a  council  of  war  (one  mem- 
ber present)  for  reviewing  the  situation. 
In  the  first  place,  a  glance  in  the  mirror  re- 
vealed the  fact  that  I  was  growing  old ;  and 
view  the  matter  as  I  would,  I  could  not 
deny  myself  the  concession  that,  with  the 
talents  and  opportunities  given  me,  I  had 
made  a  fairly  good  fight  for  the  worldly 
means  which  I  deemed  so  essential  for  the 
preparation  and  successful  presentation  of 


ii6  Reminiscences. 

the  important  scientific  work  I  was  pursu- 
ing. 

Then  came  to  me  the  recollection  of  an 
article  I  once  had  read,  in  which  the  author 
cited  historic  facts  to  show  that  nearly  all 
important  truths  have  come  to  the  surface 
through  great  difficulties  and  humble  agen- 
cies ;  and  I  there  decided  to  give  up  the  fight 
for  worldly  pelf,  and  pursue  my  work  with 
such  aid  as  God  might  be  pleased,  from 
time  to  time,  to  give  me. 

Finding  my  ready  money  all  exhausted, 
and  no  way  open  for  me  to  earn  a  living  in 
the  city,  we  turned  back  to  the  farm  again, 
and  by  working  early  and  late  for  three 
long  years,  we  succeeded  in  saving  a  little 
means  besides  making  a  comfortable  living. 

During  this  time  I  also  prepared  much  of 
the  subject-matter  for  my  series  of  lectures, 
and  began  the  construction  of  physical  ap- 
paratus for  illustrating  and  demonstrating 
the  truths  I  wished  to  declare. 

But  desiring  better  facilities  for  promot- 
ing this  latter  branch  of  my  work,  I  again 
removed  to  town  and  sought  employment  as 


Reminiscences.  1 1 7 

a  mechanic,  being  fairly  skillful  with  tools. 
But  my  efforts  were  unsuccessful  for  many 
weeks ;  employment  in  the  busy  towns  being- 
denied  me  with  a  persistency  bordering  on 
malignity,  as  I,  despondent,  sometimes  felt. 

IN   THE    NIGHT   WATCHES. 

After  a  long  time  I  succeeded,  however, 
in  securing  the  position  of  night  watchman 
in  a  manufactory;  and  then  I  took  up  my 
work  again,  in  connection  with  my  regular 
duties,  with  a  zeal  and  energy  that  knew 
no  abatement.  With  the  exception  of  two 
or  three  hours'  steady  work  in  the  evening, 
and  as  much  time  in  the  morning,  I  was  re- 
quired but  to  make  my  hourly  rounds  of  in- 
spection, which  would  take  little  more  than 
one-third  of  the  hour,  and  the  remainder 
was  devoted  to  working  diligently  at  the 
vise  or  bench,  by  the  dim  light  of  a  lantern, 
on  my  prosx>ective  set  of  physical  appara- 
tus. 

The  night's  work  ended,  I  would  repair 
to  my  home,  and  after  a  few  hours  of  sleep, 


ii8  Reminiscences. 

give  the  remainder  of  the  day  to  the  work  in 
hand ;  never  remitting  my  efforts,  till  after 
many  weeks  I  believed  I  had  enough  of  my 
earnings  laid  by,  to  enable  me  to  complete 
my  preparations,  and  present  the  result  of 
my  researches  to  the  people  in  a  clear  and 
comprehensive  way. 

I  then  gave  due  notice  to  my  employersj 
and  gave  up  the  position,  to  give  my  whole 
time  to  the  work.  But  I  found  there  was 
still  much  to  do,  and  when  my  savings  were 
running  low  again,  to  my  great  surprise  and 
relief,  a  neighboring  manufactory  sent  me 
word  one  day  that  there  was  a  place  await- 
ing me  in  their  establishment.  This  came 
most  opportunely,  and  was  regarded  by  me 
as  a  special  providence,  for  which  I  offered 
sincere  thanks. 

I  entered  at  once  on  my  new  duties,  which 
were  mechanical  day  work  this  time,  and 
for  eight  months,  sick  or  well,  I  stood  at  my 
post,  and  never  lost  an  hour  when  the 
works  were  running.  Then,  having  saved 
up  some  more  money,  I  asked  for  leave  of 
absence,  and  putting  the  finishing  touches 


Reminiscences.  119 

to  my  set  of  charts  and  physical  apparatus, 
I  came  to  New  York  City  to  present  the  re- 
sults of  my  life  work  in  the  defense  of  scrip- 
tural truth,  to  what  I  believed  to  be  the  rep- 
resentative people  of  the  most  enlightened, 
most  tolerant,  and  most  thoroughly  Chris- 
tian age  of  the  world's  history. 

The  result  of  my  visit  has  already  been 
made  known  in  the  introductory  part  of  this 
work, — ^and  is  it  strange  I  came  away  feel- 
ing, in  the  bitterness  of  my  disappointment, 
that  the  dark  pall  of  bigotry  which  cast  its 
gloom  over  the  Middle  Ages,  was  as  a 
fleecy  summer  cloudlet,  compared  with 
what  I  ran  against  on  that  occasion? 

Why !  in  those  early  days,  men  with  new 
ideas  were  always  accorded  a  hearing,  even 
though  they  might  be  adjudged  worthy  of 
imprisonment  or  death  directly  after.  But 
in  this  boasted  age  of  advanced  thought  and 
cultured  courtesy,  I  was  condemned  with- 
out an  intelligent  hearing. 


CHAPTER  F. 

THE   "HIGHER   CRITICISM." 

Up  to  the  time  of  delivering  my  lectures 
in  New  York,  I  had  gained  no  adequate  con- 
ception of  the  extent  of  the  so-called  "high- 
er criticism" — I  did  not  know  that,  except 
in  a  few  notable  instances,  it  had  invaded 
the  sacred  desk;  and  believed  it  was  con- 
fined in  most  part  to  the  learned  agnostics 
of  the  day,  and  that  the  Christian  church 
would  welcome  as  a  valuable  accessory  an 
intelligent  scientific  effort,  directed  against 
those  traducers  of  the  Bible ;  and  of  125  per- 
sonal invitations  issued,  about  one-half 
were  sent  to  clergymen  in  that  part  of  the 
city  where  my  unattended  lectures  were 
given. 

Nearly  a  month  later  I  however  gained 


The  "Higher  Criticism."         I2i 

the  audience  of  an  association  of  clergymen 
in  the  city  of  Utica,  N.  Y.,  and  gave  them 
an  abridgment  of  my  two  astronomical  lec- 
tures entitled,  "Nature  versus  Copernicus." 
And  while  most  of  those  college-bred  men 
manifested  a  deep — some  of  them  an  intense 
interest  in  my  discourse,  and  tendered  me  a 
vote  of  thanks  at  its  close,  yet  I  never 
heard  that  any  word  of  commendation  was 
given  to  the  public,  other  than  the  brief 
comment  of  the  daily  press;  and  several 
months  lat^r  one  of  Utica's  clergy  delivered 
a  Sunday  afternoon  discourse  before  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  of  that  city,  in  which  he  essayed 
the  scientific  demolition  of  one  of  those 
grand  miracles  of  the  Old  Testament,  which 
I  make  a  strong  point  of  in  my  first  lecture, 
"The  Bible  vs.  Copernicus." 

I  criticised  the  gentleman's  untenable  po- 
sition in  the  following  newspaper  article, 
and  the  animus  of|  the  higher  criticism 
may  be  inferred,  I  think,  from  his  declara- 
tion of  principles,  in  the  controversy  which 
ensued,  as  given  verhatim,  in  this  connec- 
tion: 


122         The  ''Higher  Criticism." 

Editor  Utica  Daily  Press: 

I  learned,  through  a  yesterday's  Utica 
paper,  that  one  of  your  esteemed  townsmen 
delivered  a  lecture  in  Association  Hall  Sun- 
day afternoon,  4th  inst.,  on  Joshua  com- 
manding the  sun  and  moon  to  stand  still — 
and  my  Bible  says  they  obeyed  him ;  but  the 
report  makes  the  reverend  gentleman  say 
that  this  was  only  so  in  appearance — that 
what  God  really  did  was  to  so  increase  the 
density  of  the  atmosphere  that  its  greatly 
increased  refractive  powers  kept  the  sun  ap- 
parently elevated  far  above  its  true  position 
in  the  heavens,  and  what  seemed  to  ordi- 
nary minds  a  miracle,  was  really  only  the 
result  of  natural  laws. 

With  all  due  deference  to  the  learned 
gentleman's  opinion,  but  with  greater  def- 
erence to,  and  reverence  for  the  Old  Book, 
than  for  any  man's  opinion,  I  will  briefly 
review  this  explanation  of  what  the  Chris- 
tian world  has  always  regarded  as  one  of 
the  grandest  miracles  of  the  Bible. 

The  text  of  this  event,  found  in  the  Book 
of  Joshua,  10th  chapt.  12th  and  13th  verses. 


The  **  Higher  Criticism."         123 

says  that  in  obedience  to  Joshua's  command 
^'The  sun  stood  still  in  the  midst  of  the 
heavens,  and  hasted  not  to  go  down  for 
about  a  whole  day.''  Scientific  authorities 
agree  that,  in  its  ordinary  state,  the  max- 
imum of  refraction  of  our  atmosphere 
(which  is  at  the  horizon,)  is  about  35'  of 
arc,  or  a  little  more  than  one-half  a  degree. 
Now,  if  we  admit  that  according  to  the  Bible 
record,  the  sun  appeared  to  the  Gibeonites  to 
stand  still,  or  remain  in  one  place  "about  a 
whole  day,"  but  really  did  not  slack  in  its 
course,  it  would,  in  12  hours  after  Joshua's 
command  was  given,  either  by  its  own  mo- 
tion or  the  earth's  rotation,  or  both,  have 
been  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  earth,  and 
the  refraction  necessary  to  make  it  still  ap- 
pear over  Gibeon,  would  have  been  180°, 
which  would  virtually  be  turning  the  sun's 
rays  back  on  themselves. 

But  if  we  take  the  position  that  the  Bible 
is  mistaken  about  the  sun  appearing  to 
"stand  still,"  and  that  its  progress  only  ap- 
peared retarded,  then  if  we  assume  that  it 
really  made  its  usual  progress  throughout 


124        The  "Higher  Criticism." 

the  day,  and  that  one-half  of  this  was  turned 
back  by  refraction,  we  w^ould  still  have  90° 
of  refraction. 

Since,  howevesr,  we  have  broken  away 
from  the  scriptural  text,  let  us  be  still  more 
liberal  in  our  speculations,  and  assume  that 
the  sun  apparently  fell  behind  by  refraction 
only  one- fourth  of  its  regular  12  hours'  prog- 
ress on  that  eventful  day;  this  would  yet 
require  an  atmosphere  having  a  refractive 
power  of  45°,  which  would  be  77  times 
greater  than  the  maximum  of  refraction  of 
our  atmosphere  in  its  natural  state;  (which 
is  35')  and  much  greater  than  that  of  any 
gaseous,  or  even  liquid  medium  known  to 
Science. 

If  it  were  possible  to  produce  an  atmos- 
phere of  sufficient  density  to  cause  such  a 
refraction,  all  living  creatures  and  inani- 
mate objects  not  firmly  rooted  to  the  earth 
would  float  upward  like  a  loose  cork  in  the 
bottom  of  the  sea,  and  far  more  disastrous 
results  to  mankind  would  be  likely  to  en- 
sue, than  by  the  temporary  halt  of  either 


The  "Higher  Criticism."         125 

earth  or  sun,  or  both,  when  restrained  by 
the  guiding  hand  of  Omnipotence. 

July  6,  '97. 


The  Doctor's  Reply. 

Editor  Utica  Daily  Press: 

The  report  of  my  lecture  was  so  indefi- 
nite and  misleading,  that  I  expected  some 
one  would  take  issue  with  statements  there 
made.  Reporters  often  fail  to  grasp  the 
truth,  as  uttered,  and  a  partial  statement 
does  not  do  justice  to  the  speaker,  even  when 
it  does  not  misrepresent  him. 

Mr.  Miller  evidently  believes  that  the 
earth  was  arrested  in  its  motion  on  its  axis, 
and  that  in  place  of  the  sun  standing  still, 
in  appearance,  it  did  actually  do  so,  and  that 
this  miracle  lasted  through  a  whole  day,  and 
on  this  basis  he  does  a  wonderful  amount  of 
philosophizing. 

Partias'  who  pin  their  faith  to  a  literal 
understanding  of  our  English  translation  of 


126         The  **  HIeher  Criticism 


t) 


the  Bible,  often  get  into  a  fearful  muddle. 
Mr.  Miller  regards  our  translation,  we  sup- 
X^ose,  as  a  divinely  inspired  one,  without  er- 
rors or  mistakes.  With  those  who  so  regard 
it,  we  can  have  no  argument;  their  faith,  or 
superstition  is  so  immense  that  nothing  can 
meet  it.  Only  one  thing  is  possible,  to  allow 
them  to  think  as  they  please,  and  comfort 
themselves  with  their  ignorance.  The  men 
who  once  believed  that  the  world  was  flat 
and  did  not  move,  were  the  only  wise  men 
on  earth,  according  to  their  own  estimation, 
and  the  faith  of  the  times  in  which  they 
lived.  The  trouble  of  Mr.  Miller  and  many 
others  arises  from  their  misunderstanding 
of  the  clause  in  the  13th  verse  of  the  10th 
chapter  of  Joshua,  where  it  reads :  "So  the 
sun  stood  still  in  the  midst  of  heaven,  and 
hasted  not  to  go  down,  about  a  whole  day." 
The  sentence  "About  a  whole  day,''  should 
be  rendered,  though  the  day  was  whole,  or 
finished,  or  ended.  The  idea  of  the  sentence 
is,  the  sun  did  not  go  down,  although  the 
day  was  finished. 

At  a  certain  time  of  the  month  the  sun  is 


The  "  Higher  Criticism."         127 

about  to  set ;  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  ho- 
rizon the  moon  is  just  rising;  this  was  the 
condition  when  Joshua  desired  that  the  sun 
should  not  set,  until  his  enemies  were  thor- 
oughly defeated,  and  the  sun  hasted  not  to 
go  down,  though  the  day  was  whole  or  fin- 
ished. The  time  of  the  added  light  is  no- 
where given  in  the  narrative,  and  is  simply 
an  assumption  of  parties  who  misunder- 
stand the  whole  affair.  The  trouble  is  not 
with  the  Bible,  but  with  a  wrong  interpreta- 
tion of  it.  Ten  minutes,  or  half  an  hour  at 
the  longest,  was  all  the  time  required.  It 
certainly  did  not  take  Joshua  a  whole  day 
to  defeat  his  already  panic-stricken  foes; 
they  were  just  beginning  their  flight,  and 
Joshua  wanted  to  clinch  his  victory  by  fol- 
lowing them  and  making  their  defeat  abso- 
lute, and  about  15  or  20  minutes — or  half 
an  hour  at  the  longest — ^was  ample  time 
for  all  this. 

Mr.  Miller  has  been  raising  a  fearful 
ghost,  -in  order  to  have  the  pleasure  of 
pounding  it.  Two  days  of  daylight  togeth- 
er, according  to  his  theory,  would  indeed 


128         The  **  Higher  Criticism.'* 

have  been  a  stupendous  miracle;  but  the 
Almighty  never  by  miracle,  or  otherwise, 
did  such  a  foolish  thing  as  to  give  two  days 
in  one  for  the  accommodation  of  a  few  strug- 
glers  in  Palestine,  at  the  peril  of  the  whole 
solar  system.  He  simply,  by  refraction, 
lengthened  one  day  15  or  20  minutes,  to  ex- 
hibit his  care  for  his  chosen  people  of  Israel. 
He  never  resorts  to  extraordinary  means 
when  simple  measures  will  answer  a  great 
deal  better.  The  object  of  the  lecture  was 
to  show  that  by  the  simple  law  of  refraction 
the  whole  matter  could  be  accomplished 
without  disturbing  anything  whatever,  and 
this  was  done  by  charts  and  a  demonstra- 
tion by  experiment,  which,  we  think,  was 
satisfactory  to  all  present. 


July  1/91, 

The  Author's  Response. 

Editor  Utica  Daily  Press: 

Sincerely  begging  pardon  in  advance  for 
presuming  to  differ  with    a   distinguished 


The  "Higher  Criticism.""'      129 

clergyman  and  scientist  on  biblical  and  sci- 
entific points,  yet  as  a  firm  believer  in  the 
truth  and  inspiration  of  the  Bible,  I  feel 
that  it  would  be  a  dereliction  of  duty,  to 
pass  unanswered  the  reverend  gentleman's 
article  on  "Joshua  and  the  Sun,"  in  this 
morning's  "Press." 

A  few  years  ago  a  congress  of  the  most 
devout  and  cultured  men  to  be  found  in  all 
Christendom,  assembled  for  a  revision  of  the 
Bible ;  into  which,  it  was  believed  by  many, 
some  errors  had  crept,  through  imperfect 
translation.  This  committee  was  campoeed 
of  the  profoundest  antiquarians,  historians, 
linguists  and  theologians,  chosen  from  dif- 
ferent creeds  and  countries ;  and  when  their 
labors  were  completed  without  discovering 
any  material  errors,  a  grateful  hallelujah 
went  up  from  all  Christian  lands,  that  the 
"Old  Book"  stood  justified,  and  that  the 
stronghold  of  skepticism  (claims  of  faulty 
translation),  was  forever  fallen. 

But  in  the  article  which  lies  before  me, 
the  printer  has  it  that  a  portion  of  the  10th 
chapter  of  Joshua  does  not  read  aright, — 


130         The  "Higher  Criticism." 

that  it  should  read  thus  and  so; — when  I 
take  up  to-morrow  morning's  "Press,"  I 
hope  I  may  see  notice  of  an  erratum,  signed 
by  the  man  who  set  the  article  up. 

This  article  also  reads  that  the  sun  in- 
stead of  standing  still,  obedient  to  Joshua's 
command,  was  simply  retarded,  or  delayed 
in  its  setting,  perhaps  a  half  hour ;  poesibly 
only  15  minutes.  If  we  read  carefully  that 
portion  of  the  10th  chapt.  of  Joshua  running 
from  the  15th  to  the  28th  verse,  we  find 
tbat  from  the  time  Joshua  commanded  the 
sun  to  stand  still,  to  the  "going  down  of  the 
sun,"  the  following  events  transpired: 

Joshua  and  Israel  returned  to  their  camp 
at  Gilgal — it  took  all  of  the  preceding  night 
to  march  up  to  Gibeon,  ( see  Joshua,  10:9,) 
and  they  doubtless  took  as  much,  or  more 
time  in  returning.  They  pursued  their  ene- 
mies with  great  slaughter,  till  the  remnant 
took  refuge  within  their  fenced  cities.  It 
was  told  to  Joshua  that  the  five  kings  of 
the  Amorites  were  hidden  in  a  cave  at  Mak- 
kedah,  and  he  ordered  the  mouth  of  the  cave 
closed,  and  a  guard  set; — afterward  he  or- 


The  **  Higher  Criticism."         131 

dered  the  cave  opened  and  the  kings  brought 
before  him.  Joshua  then  commanded  the 
captains  of  Israel  to  draw  near  and  place 
their  feet  upon  those  kings'  necks.  This 
order  obeyed,  he  addressed  his  people,  assur- 
ing them  that  thus  should  the  Lord  do  to 
all  their  enemies;  and  Joshua  smote  those 
kings  and  slew  them,  and  hanged  them  on 
five  trees;  all  this  before  "the  going  down 
of  the  sun  that  Joshua  commanded."  Was 
that  only  a  common  day,  or  is  the  Old  Book 
correct  in  saying,  "There  was  no  day  like 
that,  before  it,  or  after  it?" 

As  I  represented  in  yesterday's  commu- 
nication, the  maximum  of  refraction  of  our 
atmosphere  is  a  little  more  than  one-half  a 
degree;  wLich  is  equivalent  to  a  little  more 
than  two  minutes  of  time.  Tben  if,  as  the 
gentleman  surmises,  the  sun  might  appar- 
ently have  been  delayed  only  15  minutes  in 
setting,  it  would  yet  have  required  a  refrac- 
tion seven  times  greater  than  the  maximum 
to  produce  such  an  appearance. 

8.M. 

July  8,  '97. 


132         The  "Higher  Criticism."^ 


The  Doctor^s  Ultimatum.  ^ 

Editor  Utica  Daily  Press : 

If  Mr.  Miller  so  chooses,  I  am  perfectly 
willing  that  ihe  should  believe  that  the  sun 
stood  still  for  12  hours,  or  24,  or  any  period 
that  will  satisfy  him.  There  are  some  who 
believe  that  he  has  stood  still  ever  since. 
But  Mr.  Miller  w411  please  excuse  me  from 
believing  the  absurdity  that  the  Almighty 
ever  ran  two  days  into  one.  The  old  woman 
said  it  made  no  difference  to  her  whether 
the  whale  swallowed  Jonah,  or  Jonah  swal^ 
lowed  the  whale;  if  the  Bible  said  he  swal- 
lowed the  whale,  she  would  believe  it  just 
the  same. 

Mr.  Miller  is  willing  only  to  accept  a 
whole  day  for  the  standing  still  of  the  sun, 
because  he  thinks  the  Bible  says  so,  when 
in  fact  the  Bible  says  no  such  thing.  It  is 
only  the  error  of  his  wrong  interpretation. 
It  says  the  sun  did  not  hasten  to  go  down, 
although  the  day  v  as  finished,  made  whole 
or  perfected. 


The  ''Higher  Criticism."         133 

Again,  how  long  Joshua  remained  in  the 
camp  at  Gilgal,  after  his  return  from  the 
slaughter  of  his  foes,  the  narrative  does  not 
say;  but  probably  long  enough  to  rest  his 
wearied  soldiers,  who  had  been  marching 
the  night  previous  and  fighting  all  the  next 
day.  The  time  may  have  been  a  day  or  even 
several  days,  before  the  transactions  in  the 
16th  and  following  verses  took  place;  but 
Mr.  Miller  huddles  all  these  things  into  the 
brief  time  the  sun  stood  still;  work  suffi- 
cient for  several  days  at  least. 

In  all  history  periods  of  time  are  very 
imperfectly  given,  and  in  this  case  certainly 
so.  It  was  not  in  human  endurance  for  any 
men  to  stand  such  a  strain  as  Mr.  Miller 
would  put  on  the  soldiers  of  Joshua, — it 
would  demand  a  miracle  in  each  individual 
person. 

Let  us  remark  that  the  15th  verse  he  re- 
fers to  is  omitted  in  several  manuscripts; 
the  Septuagint  omits  it  altogether,  the  An- 
glo-Saxon and  the  ancient  Hexapla  versions 
have  it  not,  and  it  is  no  doubt  a  simple  glosi^ 
by  some  late  transcriber.    The  20th  and  21st 


134         The  ''Higher  Criticism." 

verses  are  much  out  of  place,  and  are  mean- 
ingless where  they  stand;  and  the  whole 
chapter  has  been  very  much  mixed  up  by 
transcribers;  and  that  ^'learned  congress" 
of  distinguished  clergymen,  who  met  to  re- 
vise the  Bible,  to  which  Mr.  Miller  refers, 
had  neither  the  ability  nor  courage  to  do 
anything  with  it,  and  simply  left  it  in  its 
glorious  obscurity,  as  something  they  knew 
nothing  about.  It  serves,  however,  one  good 
purpose;  it  shows  how  much  some  persons 
can  believe. 

This  whole  matter,  as  we  stated  in  the 
beginning  of  our  lecture  at  the  Y.  M.  C.  A., 
was  not  one  of  ability  on  the  part  of  the  Al- 
mighty, but  one  of  methods.  How  did  the 
Creator  accomplish  the  work,  by  miracle  or 
by  using  the  ordinary  laws  of  matter?  We 
think  he  used  the  general  laws,  and  did 
everything  without  in  any  measure  disturb- 
ing the  earth  or  the  sun.  Any  other  theory 
calling  for  difficulties  without  end,  and  those 
who  defend,  or  attempt  to  defend,  the  Bible 
on  other  grounds,  simply  hurt,  in  place  of 
helping  their  cause.     As  we  stated  in  our 


The  *'  Higher  Criticism."         135 

first  article,  we  can  have  no  argument  with 
those  who  cling  to  old  and  absurd  methods 
of  interpretation.  Such  "Bible  scholars'- 
must  simply  die  out.  They  cannot  be  in- 
structed or  converted.  Mr.  Miller  will  please 
excuse  us  from  further  consideration  of  this 
subject  at  present. 


July  10,  '97, 


The  Author's  Finale. 

Editor  Utica  Daily  Pi^css  : 

Noticing  in  this  morning's  "Press"  that 
the  learned  divine  calls  a  halt,  and  since  we 
have  thus  far  only  been  playing  with  peb- 
bles along  the  shore,  kindly  permit  us,  in 
conclusion,  to  take  one  hasty  glance  toward 
the  broad  ocean  of  scientific  truth  which,  as 
yet  so  imperfectly  explored,  lies  spread  out 
before  us. 

Respecting  this  scriptural  narrative  of 
Joshua  and  the  sun,  it  has  been  doubtfully 
regarded  by  scientists  indorsing  the  Coper- 


136         The  "Higher  Criticism." 

nican  theory  of  the  universe,  for  the  reason 
that  the  sun  being  considered  already  at 
rest  (relatively  to  the  earth's  orbital  move- 
ment,) it  must  therefore  appear  to  us  to 
travel  around  the  earth  wholh^  on  account 
of  the  earth's  rotation  on  its  axis.  Then 
the  sun  appearing  to  stand  still  on  Gibeou, 
could  only  have  been  caused  by  the  earth 
ceasing  to  rotate ;  which  it  is  claimed,  would 
not  only  have  had  a  disorganizing  effect  on 
the  whole  solar  system,  but  would  have  been 
highly  disastrous  to  everything  on  the 
earth's  surface. 

We  are  taught  that  the  earth  has  two  mo- 
tions,— its  diurnal  rotation  on  its  axis 
and  its  annual  revolution  around  the  sun. 
Now,  if  the  earth's  progress  in  its  orbit 
were  dependent  on  its  rotation — that  is,  if 
it  rolled  along  in  its  orbit  like  a  car  wheel 
on  a  railroad  track,  when  it  ceased  rotating 
its  orbital  motion  would  also  cease,  and  the 
whole  system  be  more  or  less  disturbed. 

But  we  find  that  its  orbital  motion  is  far 
more  rapid  than  its  rotary  motion,  and  con- 
sequently independent  of  it;  the  earth  mov- 


The  '*  Higher  Criticism."  137 

ing  in  its  orbit  about  63  times  faster  than  it 
would  if  it  simply  rolled  along  like  a  ball 
on  a  plane  surface.  Then,  to  stop  its  rota- 
tion on  its  axis,  would  not  necessarily  dis- 
turb its  orbital  movement,  and  would  not 
therefore  disturb  the  order  of  the  system  to 
which  it  belongs. 

But  would  not  everything  on  the  earth's 
surface  fly  off  at  a  tangent  into  space?  NO; 
for  this  reason :  The  resultant  of  these  two 
motions  of  the  earth,  as  affecting  any  object 
on  its  surface  (the  orbital  motion  so  largely 
predominating)  would  deviate  so  little,  com- 
paratively, from  the  orbital  line,  that  if  the 
earth  simply  ceased  to  rotate  on  its  axis,  the 
slight  change  from  resultant  to  orbital  mo- 
tion alone,  would  hardly  be  felt  by  its  inhab- 
itants, since  the  absolute  movement  of  any 
given  portion  of  the  earth's  surface  (except 
at  the  poles)  is  never  quite  uniform  through 
the  twenty-four  hours ;  its  rotary  movement 
being  direct,  and  added  to  the  orbital  motion 
at  night,  or  when  on  the  opposite  side  from 
the   sun,    and  retrograde,    and    subtracted 


138         The  ''  Higher  Criticism." 

from  the  orbital  motion  during  the  day,  or 
when  turned  toward  the  sun. 

If,  however,  we  take  the  position  that  the 
astronomical  plan  outlined  in  the  first  chap- 
ter of  Genesis,  which  would  appear  to  place 
the  earth  in  the  centre,  is  the  correct  one, 
and  that  the  regular  succession  of  day  and 
night  is  produced  by  the  reciprocal  motion 
of  the  earth  simply  rotating  on  its  axis  in 
one  direction,  while  the  sun,  moon  and  stars 
revolve  slowly  around  it  in  the  opposite  di- 
rection, it  could  make  but  little  difference 
to  the  other  bodies  of  the  system  whether 
the  earth  rotated  on  its  axis  or  not;  since, 
being  permanently  located  at  the  centre,  its 
attractive  influence  would  in  either  case  al- 
ways be  the  same.  And  to  cause  the  sun  to 
stand  comparatively  still  on  Gibeon,  it 
would  only  have  been  necessary,  as  in  the 
preceding  figure,  to  gradually  retard  the 
earth's  rotation  till  it  ceased  turning  on  its 
axis;  which  might  have  been  accomplished 
inside  of  one  hour  without  disturbing  the 
lightest  leaf  on  any  tree;  as  objects,  even  at 
the  equator,  only  move  by  the  earth's  rota- 


The  "  Higher  Criticism."         139 

tion,  1,040  miles  an  hour,  or  about  26  times 
as  fast  as  an  ordinary  mail  train,  which 
can  be  stopped  without  jolt  or  jar  in  one 
minute. 

Pursuing  this  line  of  thought,  it  may  yet 
be  found,  on  a  fuller  and  freer  investigation, 
that  true  science  is  in  perfect  harmony  with 
those  portions  of  the  Bible  which  the  higher 
critics  would  stamp  as  improbable  and  un- 
true; thereby  unintentionally,  yet  no  less 
certainly,  leading  men  to  doubt  the  whole. 

July  12,  '97.  S.  M. 

I  made  several  more  efforts  to  get  my 
lectures  before  intelligent  audiences,  but 
failed  to  secure  any  satisfactory  engage- 
ment, and  most  earnestly  desiring  to  give 
the  results  of  my  work  to  the  public,  I  pre- 
pared a  series  of  short  articles,  treating  in 
concise  language  on  the  physical  facts  I  was 
ready  to  illustrate  and  discuss. 

These  I  offered,  first  to  astronomers  and 
scientists,  for  examination ;  but  they  all  de- 
clined to  receive  them,  and  one  of  our  Gov- 
ernment astronomers  declared  plainly  that 


140         The  *' Higher  Criticism." 

he  would  not  take  time  to  read  any  article 
differing  with  the  theory  of  Copernicus. 

I  neixt  tried  the  publishers ;  but  they  had 
so  many  beautiful  works  of  sentiment  and 
fiction  on  hand,  awaiting  publication,  that 
they  could  not  for  a  moment  consider  a 
work  devoted  to  unpopular,  though  undeni- 
able scientific  truths,  ranged  in  defense  of 
that  "Word"  which  is  the  hope  of  the  world. 

The  newspapers  and  periodicals  were 
next  applied  to;  but  they  were  too  deeply 
engrossed  with  the  affairs  of  the  present,  to 
waste  any  thought  on  an  effort  to  correct 
the  errors  of  the  past,  and  establish  on  a 
firmer  basis  the  hope  of  the  future. 

It  will  therefore  be  seen  that  both  my 
lectures  and  my  waitings  had  thus  far  met 
with  a  very  frigid  reception;  having  been 
avoided^  not  only  by  the  scientists,  and  the 
self-styled  "higher  critics"  of  the  Bible,  but 
by  the  "old  school"  theologians  as  well ;  the 
latter  of  whom,  though  believing  the  Bible, 
are  yet  content  to  let  theology  and  science 
drift  along  in  their  wonted  channels,  regard- 
less of  the  encroachment  the  one  is  making 


The  '*  Higher  Criticism."         141 

on  the  other ;  passively  raising  the  question, 
"What  need  of  disturbing  their  present  re- 
lations?'' 

To  such  interrogation  I  would  reply,  that 
man,  dreading  annihilation  and  panting  far 
immortality,  fondly  hopes,  when  the  rough 
journey  of  this  life  is  ended,  that  he  may 
live  again,  in  a  higher  and  happier  sphere. 
The  Bible  alone  gives  promise  of,  and  is  has 
only  guide  to  such  a  sphere — destroy  its 
authenticity,  and  with  nothing  else  to  fol- 
low, that  hope  perishes. 

This  Bible  outlines,  in  a  general  way,  the 
great  plan  of  the  universe;  but  in  the  16th 
century  Nicolaus  Copernicus,  a  German  sci- 
entist, physician,  and  divine,  disregarding 
the  scriptural  plan,  formulated  a  new  and 
entirely  different  one,  which  was  published 
in  1543,  but  was,  however,  for  many  years 
rejected  by  the  Christian  world,  who  be- 
lieved the  Scriptures  true. 

But  in  1609,  Johann  Kepler,  an  eminent 
German  mathematician,  who  enjoyed  the 
confidence  of  the  people,  published  an  in- 
dorsement of  the  theory  of  Copernicus,  with 


142         The  ''  Higher  Criticism." 

some  new  theoretical  laws  of  motion,  which 
would  appear  to  sustain  it, — and  the  first 
decisive  step  was  thus  taken  toward  eleva- 
ting the  science  of  man  above  the  inspired 
Word  of  God. 

And  what  has  followed?  To-day  the  Old 
Book  is  being  ruthlessly  assailed  on  every 
hand.  Men,  in  their  vain  wisdom,  would 
tear  line  after  line  and  precept  after  precept 
from  its  pages,  and  leave  the  grim  shadow 
of  doubt  hanging  over  what  remains.  We 
are  told  the  story  of  Jonah  is  a  myth,  that 
Moses  did  not  write  the  Pentateuch,  and 
that  the  miracles  of  the  Bible  in  general, 
including  the  miraculous  birth  of  our  Lord 
and  Savior,  are  simply  tales  of  fiction. 

Yet  many  of  these  wise  critics  profess  to 
believe  in,  and  love  that  Savior  who,  while 
on  earth,  is  recorded  as  constantly  referring 
to,  quoting  from,  and  indorsing  the  Scrip- 
tures. And  the  more  they  ignore  his  indorse- 
ment, the  more  they  multiply  the  emblems 
of  his  crucifixion  in  their  sanctuaries.  This 
latter  may,  however,  be  appropriate. 


The  "  Higher  Criticism."         143 

And  what  are  we  to  receive  in  return  for 
that  which  they  would  take  from  us?  Only 
the  morbid  satisfaction  of  feeling  that  some 
of  our  fellow  men  possess  the  extraordinary 
ability  plausibly  to  argue  that  this  Book  of 
promise  and  of  hope  abounds  in  fiction,  and 
is  therefore  unreliable. 

Such  teaching  must  needs  tend  toward 
the  gruesome  conclusion  of  those  morbidly 
wise  men  who  esteem  the  present  all  there 
is  of  life,  the  scriptural  Heaven  a  phantasm, 
eternal  happiness  an  idle  dream ;  leaving 
the  dear  ones  gone  before,  whom  we  have 
fondly  hoped  and  prayed  to  meet  again,  to 
molder  in  the  damp  earth,  to  which  we,  ere 
long,  must  be  consigned. 

Is  it  not  time,  then,  that  we  retrace  our 
steps,  to  see  if  that  first  step  was  well  taken? 
Let  us  calmly,  and  without  prejudice, 
consider  this  question  in  the  following  chap- 
ters; keeping  ever  in  mind  the  important 
lesson  gained  from  human  experience,  that 
theory  is  one  thing,  and  practical  demon- 
stration sometimes  quite  another. 


144  ^^^  "Higher  Criticism." 

^^It  cannot  he;  each  hope,  each  fear, 

That  lights  the  eye,  or  clouds  the  brow, 
Proclaims  there  is  a  happier  sphere 

Than  this  bleak  icorld  that  holds  us  now. 
There  is  a  voice  which  sorrow  hears. 

When  heavy  weighs  life's  galling  chain; 
'Tis  Heaven  that  whispers — Dry  thy  tears, 

The  pure  in  heart  shall  meet  againJ' 


LECTURES. 


CHAPTER  VL 

LECTURE  I. — THE  BIBLE  VS.  COPERNICUS. 

With  firm  convictions  of  the  right,  forti- 
fied by  God's  Holy  Word  and  his  revealed 
Book  of  Nature,  yet  feeling  keenly  my  own 
inability  to  battle  with  the  learned  of  earth 
backed  by  the  lore  of  centuries,  with  whom 
I  have  taken  issue,  I  find  myself  shrinking 
from  the  weighty  task  which  I  have  set  me. 
And  that  I  must  know  my  testimony  may 
be  rejected,  and  myself  contemned,  weighs 
my  courage  down,  as  with  a  leaden  pall. 

But  moved  by  a  sense  of  duty,  and  a  hope 
that  the  thoughts  expressed  may  find  a  re- 
sponsive chord  in  some  heart,  and  prove  a 


146  Lectures. 

germ  of  truth,  which  may  become  a  power 
tin  the  coming  years  for  winning  men  back 
to  their  primal  faith  in  God,  with  awe  and 
humility  I  enter — dissentingly,  the  temples 
hallowed  by  the  illustrious  dead,  and  cher- 
ished by  the  profound  living.  But  with 
God's  Word  for  my  guide,  and  his  won- 
drous works  for  my  justification,  why  should 
I  falter,  though  men  may  frown? 

While  mankind  have  been  moving  down 
through  the  ages,  and  human  wisdom  has 
been  advancing,  methinks  our  Heavenly  Fa- 
ther, with  displeasure,  sees  the  growing 
tendency  of  men,  as  they  delve  deeper  and 
deeper  in  the  mines  of  human  knowledge,  to 
misconstrue,  combat,  or  even  reject  the 
teachings  of  his  sacred  volume.  But  while 
skepticism  assails  and  science  ignores,  the 
soul  redeemed,  with  eye  of  faith  can  pierce 
the  mazes  men  have  wrought,  and  trace  in 
each  inspired  page  the  authorship  divine. 

Where  the  Christian  who,  in  the  first 
raptures  of  his  new-born  existence,  that  has 
not  felt  all  doubts  and  seeming  inconsisten- 
cies vanish,  and  a  deep  conviction  pervading 


Lectures.  147 

his  inmost  being,  that  the  Bible  is  true? 
Who  the  dying  saint,  just  launching  out 
from  the  shores  of  time,  and  gazing  through 
death's  portals  toward  the  New  Jerusalem, 
that  has  ever  renounced  his  faith  in  it? 

Thanks  be  to  God,  the  Bible  is  true!  All 
nature  breathes  it!  Angel  voices  hymn  it! 
The  dying  witness  to  it — and  we  will  trust 
our  all  upon  it.  O,  we  love  to  believe  the 
Old  Book  true ;  it  is  the  anchor  of  our  faith, 
the  day-star  of  our  earthly  existence ;  on  its 
precious  promises  hang  all  our  hopes  of 
Heaven.  Without  it  we  would  be  indeed, 
like  a  lost  ship  on  an  unknown  sea,  without 
chart  or  compass,  drifting,  it  knows  not 
whither ;  or  like  a  shipwrecked  mariner  on 
a  desert  isle,  with  vision  bounded  and  ob- 
scured by  the  black  clouds  of  chaotic  night 
hanging  o'er  his  head,  and  the  black  waters 
of  despair  breaking  at  his  feet. 

Accepting  it  then  as  true,  and  from  God, 
lest  we  err  in  its  perusal,  let  us  keep  in  con- 
stant recollection  its  last  solemn  warning, 
and  the  possible  breadth  of  its  application : 
"And  if  any  man  shall  take  away  from  the 


148  Lectures. 

words  of  the  book  of  this  prophecy,  God 
shall  take  away  his  part,  out  of  the  Book 
of  Life."     Revelation^  22:19. 

Reverently,  prayerfully,  let  us  then  open 
at  the  beginning,  and  accept  what  we  may 
find.  As  the  first  chaper  of  Genesis  is  fa- 
miliar to  all,  we  will  refrain  from  a  general 
reading,  inviting  your  attention  more  par- 
ticularly to  the  16th  and  17th  verses,  which 
read  as  follows: 

"And  God  made  two  great  lights;  the 
greater  light  to  rule  the  day,  and  the  lesser 
light  to  rule  the  night;  he  made  the  stars 
also. — And  God  set  them  in  the  firmament 
of  the  heaven  to  give  light  upon  the  earth." 

To  give  light  upon  the  earth!  Can  this 
be  true?  Why,  the  proud  science  of  Astron- 
omy teaches  us  that  this  greater  light,  the 
sun,  is  the  centre  of  a  system,  around  which 
the  earth,  with  other  planets,  revolves ;  the 
earth  being  simply  a  planetary  attendant  of 
the  sun,  and  more  than  a  million  times  its 
inferior  in  size.     But  this  first  chapter  of 


Lectures.  149 

(Jenesis  appears  plainly  to  imply  tliat  the 
earth  is  the  centre,  and  that  sun,  moon  and 
stars  were  created  especially  to  serve  the 
earth,  and  set  in  a  firmament  enveloping  it. 

True  to  my  convictions,  and  my  faith  in 
God's  Word,  I  shall  assume  that  the  Bible 
is  correct,  and  shall  undertake  to  show,  by 
this  series  of  lectures,  that  Science  may  he 
tvrong. 

The  7th  verse  of  the  chapter  reads,  "And 
God  made  the  firmament,  and  divided  the 
waters  which  were  under  the  firmament, 
from  the  waters  which  were  above  the  firma- 
ment ;  and  it  was  so." 

What  do  we  find  in  support  of  this  revela- 
tion? The  divine  psalmist,  exhorting  men 
to  praise  God,  says  in  the  148th  psalm, — 

"Praise  Him  ye  heavens  of  heavens,  and 
ye  waters  that  be  above  the  heavens!" 
Again  he  says,  in  the  24th  psalm, — "The 
earth  is  the  Lord's,  and  the  fullness  thereof ; 
the  world  and  they  that  dwell  therein ;  for  he 
hath  founded  it  upon  the  seas^  and  estab- 
lished it  upon  the  floods:'     And  again  in 


150  Lectures. 

tlie  29tli  psalm, — "The  Lord  sitteth  upon 
the  flood,  etc." 

These  few  passages,  and  others  which 
could  be  cited,  tend  to  show  that  whatever 
men  in  modern  times  may  think  of — "The 
waters  beyond  the  heavens,"  David  accepted 
the  revelation  in  its  most  literal  sense. 


THE   FLOOD. 

And  why  should  not  that  revelation  be  so- 
accepted?  We  read  in  the  7th  chapter  of 
Genesis,  that  after  Noah  and  his  family  had 
entered  the  ark,  "the  fountains  of  the 
Great  Deep  were  broken  up,  and  the  win- 
dows of  heaven  were  opened,"  causing  it  to 
rain  on  the  earth  till  the  mountains  were 
covered. 

Now,  whence  came  this  great  deluge  of 
waters, — from  within,  or  from  without  the 
firmament?  Could  the  rains  caused  by  na- 
ture's regular  process  of  evaporation  and 
condensation  of  the  water  already  on  the 
earth,  have  produced  such  an  overwhelming 


Lectures.  151 

result?  In  a  Avord,  could  the  world  have 
been  drowned  with  its  own  waters? 

Could  the  water  which  was  on  the  earth 
before  the  flood,  not  only  have  extended  its 
bounds  over  the  whole  earth,  but  actually 
have  swollen  its  own  volume,  and  raised  its 
own  surface  many  feet  above  the  earth,  till 
the  mountains  were  covered?  Surely  not  by 
any  natural  process ! 

Clearly,  then,  the  material  for  this  great 
inundation  must  have  come  from  without 
the  firmament — shall  we  say  from  "the  wa- 
ters beyond  the  heavens;"  which  may  be 
the  Great  Deep,  referred  to  in  the  chapter : 
— presumably  not  reposing  there  in  liquid 
form,  nor  yet  perhaps  in  vapor  as  dense  as 
floats  in  clouds  above  the  earth;  yet  water ^ 
nevertheless. 

This  conclusion  also  finds  support  in  the 
words  found  in  the  37th  chapter  of  the  Book 
of  Job;  the  6th  verse  reading  thus:  "For 
He  saith  to  the  snow.  Be  thou  on  the  earth ; 
likewise  to  the  small  rain,  and  to  the  great 
rain  of  His  strength." 

It  will  be  noticed  that  a  marked  distinc- 


152  Lectures. 

tion  is  here  made  between  God's  small,  or 
ordinary  rain,  and  the  "great  rain  of  his 
strength," — such  as  was  necessary  to  sub- 
merge the  world. 

But  how  was  the  earth  again  relieved  of 
this  aggregation  of  waters?  We  read  in  the 
8th  chapter  of  Genesis  that  God  caused  a 
wind  to  pass  over  the  earth,  and  the  waters 
assuaged.  Please  to  note  that  expression, 
"And  the  waters  assuaged."  The  fountains 
of  the  deep  and  the  windows  of  heaven  were 
also  stopped,  and  the  rain  from  heaven  was 
restrained;  and  the  waters  returned  from 
off  the  earth  continually,  till  the  end  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  days,  the  waters  were 
abated. 

The  waters  "assuaged,"  and  the  waters 
were  "abated ;" — both  these  terms  implying 
that  the  waters  were  lessened,  but  not  all 
removed ;  and  leaving  us  to  infer  that  while 
a  portion  may  have  floated  back  in  vapor  to 
whence  it  came,  yet  part  was  left  to  increase 
permanently  the  waters  of  the  earth. 

While  I  have  no  desire  to  urge  this  theory 
on  the  popular  mind,  yet  there  appears  to 


Lectures.  153 

be  some  scriptural  foundation  for  believing 
that  the  earth's  surface  was  formerly  rep- 
resented by  a  much  smaller  proportion  of 
water  than  at  present,  from  the  fact  that  in 
the  Scriptures,  the  gatherings  of  water  on 
earth,  before  the  Flood,  are  only  spoken 
of  as  Seas,  but  afterivard^  as  the  Great  and 
Wide  Sea,  The  Deep,  etc. — terms  implying 
a  vast  whole;  and  not  like  the  term,  Seas, 
implying  smaller  divisions  of  water. 

The  truth,  how^ever,  which  I  wish  to  im- 
press here  is, — that  in  the  first  chapter  of 
Genesis,  the  earth  is  made  the  first,  the 
principal,  and  the  central  object  in  creation ; 
while  sun,  moon  and  stars  were  hung  in  a 
firmament  surrounding  it,  to  be  subservient 
'to  it;  and  that  the  history  of  the  Deluge, 
when  carefully  considered,  directly  confirms 
that  revelation. 

That  this  plan  of  creation  was  also  the 
one  understood  and  accepted  by  patriarchs 
and  prophets,  who  appear  to  have  enjoyed 
more  direct  inter couse  Avith  God  than  men 
in  modern  times,  is  clearly  shoAvn  by  their 
frequent  expressions  in  the  Old  Testament. 


154  Lectures. 

Of  the  fixedness,  or  non-wandering  state  of 
the  earth,  David  says,  in  the  33d  psalm : 

"Let  all  the  earth  fear  the  Lord;  let  all 
the  inhabitants  of  the  world  stand  in  awe 
of  him :  for  he  spake,  and  it  was  done ;  he 
commanded,  and  it  stood  fast." 

And  again,  in  the  104th  psalm,  he  says: 

"Who  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth, 
that  it  should  not  be  removed  forever?" 

Job  also,  it  seems,  held  the  same  views. 
In  chapter  26,  of  the  Book  of  Job,  he  says : 

"He  stretcheth  out  the  North  over  the 
empty  place,  and  hangeth  the  earth  upon 
nothing." 

While  passages  of  a  like  import  abound 
throughout  the  Old  Testament,  I  fail  to  find 
a  single  sentence  even  remotely  implying 
that  the  earth  travels  millions  and  millions 
of  miles  annually,  in  an  orbit  around  the 
sun.  But  to  the  movement  of  the  sun  itself, 
we  find  many  references;  and  I  crave  your 
indulgence  while  I  quote  a  few  extracts : 

"And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day, 
saith  the  Lord,  that  I  will  cause  the  sun  to 


Lectures.  155 

go  down  at  noon,  and  I  will  darken  the 
earth  in  the  clear  day.'^     Amos,  8:9, 

^The  sun  also  riseth  and  the  sun  goeth 
down;  and  hasteth  to  his  place  where  he 
arose.''    Eccl.  1:5. 

"Their  line  is  gone  out  through  all  the 
earth,  and  their  words  to  the  end  of  the 
world.  In  them  hath  he  set  a  tabernacle 
for  the  sun,  which  is  as  a  bridegroom  com- 
ing out  of  his  chamber,  and  rejoiceth  as  a 
strong  man  to  run  a  race.  His  going  forth 
is  from  the  end  of  the  heaven,  and  his  circuit 
unto  the  ends  of  it ;  and  there  is  nothing  hid 
from  the  heat  thereof."     Psalms,  19:4,  5,  6. 

This  is  indeed  strong  language.  No  one 
could  desire  more  positive  declarations  as  to 
the  belief  of  those  inspired  men  in  the  sun's 
circuitous  movement.  But  leaving  now  the 
expressions  quoted,  for  your  consideration, 
we  will  again  give  our  attention  to  some  of 
the  memorable  events  recorded  in  Sacred 
History,  which  have  claimed  the  interest  of 
the  student  and  philosopher  in  all  ages. 

In  the  10th  chapter  of  the  Book  of  Joshua 
we  find  record  of  a  most  wonderful  instance 


1 56  Lectures. 

of  GocVs  care  of  his  chosen  people,  Israel, 
which  is  also  in  direct  support  of  Moses' 
history  of  the  creation. 


THE  SUN  STANDS  STILL. 

Moses  was  dead.  After  leading  forth  his 
people  from  bondage,  and  through  manyr 
perils,  to  the  borders  of  the  Promised  Land, 
he  was  called — up  higher;  and  Joshua,  a 
man  of  force  and  valor,  yet  devout  and  God- 
fearing, was  chosen  leader  of  Israel.  Enjoy- 
ing divine  favor  and  help,  he  carried  ruin 
and  defeat  into  the  camp  of  his  enemies,  and 
hostile  cities  were  either  scattered  like  chaff 
before  him,  or  forced  to  capitulate. 

Of  the  latter,  was  the  proud  and  populous 
city  of  Gibeon.  The  king  of  Jerusalem  (it 
was  then  a  city  of  the  Amorites),  fearing 
this  important  acquisition  to  Israel's  stand- 
ard, consummated  an  alliance  with  the  cities 
of  Jarmuth,  Lachish,  Eglon  and  Hebron, 
for  Gibeon's  conquest. 

Marching  against  the  doomed  city  with 
all  the  panoply  of  war,  calmly  confident  of 


Lectures.  157 

superior  strength,  they  deliberately  pitched 
their  camp  and  prepared  for  battle. 

The  men  of  Gibeon  promptly  dispatched 
swift  messengers  to  Joshua,  encamped  at 
Gilgal,  saying:  "Slack  not  thy  hand  from 
thy  servants !  Come  up  unto  us  quickly  and 
save  us  and  help  us,  for  all  the  kings  of  the 
Amorites  that  dwell  in  the  mountains  are 
gathered  together  against  us!" 

It  was  the  hour  of  slumber.  But  quick 
the  trumpet's  call  To  arms!  aroused  the 
sleeping  host;  the  line  of  march  was  taken 
up,  and  'neath  the  silent  stars,  Israel  went 
forth  again — to  victory!  For  did  not  the 
Lord  say  to  Joshua  on  that  midnight  march, 
"Fear  them  not,  for  I  have  delivered  them 
into  thine  hand;  there  shall  not  a  man  of 
them  stand  before  thee." 

Gray  morning  dawned  in  the  east.  As 
its  first  beams  kissed  the  battlements  of 
Gibeon,  the  reveille  was  heard  in  the  allies' 
camp,  and  the  silence  of  repose  soon  gave 
place  to  the  hum  and  bustle  of  activity  and 
preparation, — the  eventful  day  had  begun. 

The  marshalled  hosts  encompassed  that 


158  Lectures. 

fair  city,  whose  spires  now  glittered  in  the 
morning  sun.  The  trumpet's  call  to  charge 
was  taken  up  along  the  line,  and  like  an 
avalanche  they  hurled  themselves  against 
its  walls.  Fiercely  the  battle  raged — higher 
climbed  the  sun — and  as  the  day  advanced, 
anxious  watchers  on  the  towers  strained 
their  gaze  toward  Gilgal,  in  quest  of  the 
summoned  relief.  At  length,  above  the  din 
of  battle,  rang  the  glad  shout.  They  come! 
they  come !    Israel's  host  advances. 

Like  a  thunderbolt  from  a  clear  sky,  that 
valiant  band  fell  on  the  heathen  host ;  shout 
answered  shout,  steel  clanged  to  steel,  while 
fell  the  foe  on  every  hand.  Soon  the  tide  of 
battle  turned — the  besiegers  were  routed, 
and  Israel  was  in  victorious  pursuit  of  the 
vanquished  legions. 

And  now,  behold  the  power  of  God,  and 
his  care  of  his  people! — great  hailstones 
were  rained  down  on  the  flying  foe,  so  that 
they  who  fell  beneath  them,  were  more  than 
they  who  perished  by  the  sword.  In  the 
midst  of  the  fearful  carnage,  Joshua  stood 
forth  and  gave  his  memorable  command,  to 


Lectures.  159 

the  end  that  the  day  might  be  prolonged 
that  the  enemy's  destiTiction  could  be  made 
complete.    These  were  his  words : 

"In  the  sight  of  Israel,  Sun,  stand  thou 
still  on  Gibeon!  And  thou.  Moon,  in  the 
valley  of  Ajalon !" 

Was  that  command  honored?  The  two 
verses  following  it  in  the  chapter,  tell  us 
that  it  was  : — thej^  read  thus :  "So  the  sun 
stood  still,  and  the  moon  stayed,  till  the 
people  had  avenged  themselves  on  their  ene- 
mies. Is  not  this  written  in  the  Book  of 
Jasher?  ^So  the  sun  stood  still  in  the  midst 
of  heaven,  and  hasted  not  to  go  down  about 
a  whole  day.  And  there  was  no  day  like 
that,  before  it  or  after  it,  that  the  Lord 
hearkened  unto  the  voice  of  a  man ;  for  the 
Lord  fought  for  Israel.'  " 

O,  sublime  and  awe-inspiring  spectacle! 
The  Sun !  which  through  thousands  and 
thousands  of  successive  journeyings,  had 
never  swerved  from  its  appointed  course  in 
the  heavens — had  never  before  forgotten  its 
fixed  periods  of  rising  and  setting;  whose 
progress  across  the  celestial  arch  had  ever 


i6o  Lectures. 

been  marked  by  a  constancy  and  steadiness 
surpassing  all  other  movement,  that  day — 
stood  still  over  Gibeon! 

The  humble  peasant  turned  again  and 
again  to  his  hour  glass,  shaded  his  eyes  and 
gazed  at  the  sun;  the  man  of  wealth  anx- 
iously consulted  the  astrologer,  who  eagerly 
scanned  the  record,  in  a  vain  search  for  a 
precedent; — meanwhile  time  sped  on,  but 
not  the  sun. 

As  the  hours  went  by,  blanched  faces 
peered  from  lowly  cottages  and  princely  pal- 
aces. Had  God's  purpose  changed?  Should 
the  bright  orb  of  day  henceforth  dart  down 
his  fierce  rays  on  the  parched  landscape^ 
evermore,  without  intermission  or  change? 
Should  morning  mists,  and  evening  dews, 
and  night's  repose  never  more  refresh  the 
earth?    Let  us  turn  to  the  chapter : 

We  read  that  after  Israel's  people  had 
avenged  themselves  on  their  enemies,  and 
the  kings  of  the  allied  cities  had  been  led 
from  their  hiding  place  and  executed,  then^ 
resuming  its  majestic  course — slow  descend- 
ing to  the  western  gates,  mid  the  gold  and 


Lectures.  i6i 

crimson,  and  all  the  glorious  blendings  of 
an  Oriental  setting, — the  sun  went  down. 
Could  he  who  had  power  thus  to  command, 
have  known  naught  of  that  system  which 
obeyed  his  behest? 


THE  SUN  TURNS  BACK. 

Passing  over  a  period  of  more  than  seven 
hundred  years  of  the  world's  history,  we 
come  to  another  event,  very  similar,  in  the 
conclusions  it  offers,  to  the  one  just  noticed ; 
though  differing  widely,  both  in  detail  and 
in  general  characteristics.  You  will  find  it 
recorded  in  the  20th  chapter  of  2d  Kings, 
also  in  the  38th  chapter  of  Isaiah.  The  two 
records  agreeing  substantially,  while  each 
serves  to  elucidate  and  confirm  the  other. 

Jerusalem  had  already  been  for  several 
centuries  in  Israel's  possession,  and  had  be- 
come its  chief  city  and  seat  of  government. 
The  wicked  and  idolatrous  reign  of  Ahaz, 
king  of  Judah,  was  ended  by  his  death,  and 
Prince  Hezekiah,  an  upright,  pious  young 


l62  Lectures. 

man  of  twenty-five,  ascended  his  deceased 
father's  throne. 

Though  all  the  other  tribes  of  Israel  were 
later  given  over  to  their  common  enemy,  the 
Assyrians,  for  their  idolatrous  practices, 
and  though  Judah  was  also  resting  under 
God's  displeasure  for  the  same  offence,  yet 
through  the  wise  counsels  of  this  noble 
young  king,  the  remnant  of  Israel  was 
spared. 

Devoutly  fearing,  and  intent  on  himself 
and  people  honoring  and  serving  the  true 
God,  he  caused  all  the  accessories  to  false 
worship  to  be  destroyed ;  even  to  the  brazen 
serpent  which  Moses  had  made  for  Israel 
centuries  before.  And  God's  wrath  was 
turned  aside,  and  Judah  once  more  restored 
to  favor. 

Prospering  in  their  civil  and  domestic  af- 
fairs, they  were  also  successful  in  repelling 
invasions  of  their  foes  by  force  of  arms ;  but 
their  humane  and  pious  king  preferred  the 
gentle  arts  of  peace ;  and  v,  hen,  in  the  four- 
teenth year  of  his  reign,  the  Assyrians  came 
up  and  seized  some  of  the  outlying  cities  of 


Lectures.  163 

Judah,  Hezekiah,  instead  of  resorting  to 
violence,  purchased  their  release  by  a  ran- 
som of  fabulous  amount. 

But  Assyria's  king  was  not  content.  He 
knew  full  well  that  yet  there  reigned  within 
Jerusalem's  walls  a  king  who  despised  and 
rejected  the  heathen  rites  and  practices  of 
Assyria,  and  who  taught  his  people  to  honor 
and  serve  one  high  and  ever-living  God ;  and 
in  defiance  of  that  God,  King  Sennacherib 
sent  a  mighty  host  against  the  Holy  City, 
under  the  leadership  of  able  advocates,  who 
sought  first  by  specious  argument;  finally 
by  threat  and  bombast,  to  draw  Hezekiah 
and  his  people  from  their  allegiance  to  the 
Most  High. 

In  this  dilemma,  Hezekiah  went  up  to  the 
Temple,  and  laid  his  case  before  the  Lord; 
praying  for  deliverance  from  his  enemies. — 
And  now  behold  again  the  power  of  a  prayer 
hearing,  and  a  prayer  answering  God: 

"And  it  came  to  pass  that  night,  that  the 
angel  of  the  Lord  went  out  and  smote  in  the 
camp  of  the  Assyrians,  one  hundred  four 


164  Lectures. 

score  and  five  thousand;  and  when  arose 
the  morning,  behold  they  were  all  dead." 

Thus,  substantially,  reads  the  35th  verse 
of  the  19th  chapter  of  2d  Kings. — A  most 
wonderful  interception  of  Divine  Provi- 
dence! One  hundred  and  eighty-five  thou- 
sand slain  in  one  night,  in  direct  answer  to 
Hezekiah^s  prayer  for  deliverance. 

This  sketch  may  seem  a  digression;  but 
I  have  presented  it  for  the  purpose  of  intro- 
ducing King  Hezekiah  in  his  true  character, 
and  to  show  what  wonders  the  Lord  was 
ready  to  perform  in  answer  to  his  petitions ; 
that  we  may  be  better  prepared  to  accept 
the  miracle  which  was  wrought  later,  by 
his  request,  and  which  we  will  now  proceed 
to  consider: 

Some  time  after,  was  the  King  sick  with 
a  grievous  boil ;  and  the  prophet  Isaiah,  son 
of  Amoz,  came  and  said  to  him  :  "Hezekiah ! 
thus  saith  the  Lord!  ^Set  thine  house  in 
order,  for  thou  shalt  die,  and  not  live.^  " 

What  a  message  was  this  to  a  man  of 
only  thirty-nine  years; — just  entering  his 
prime,  and  in  the  height  of  his  glory  and 


Lectures.  165 

usefulness.  The  King  of  Judah!  revered 
and  beloved  by  his  subjects,  and  invincible, 
through  divine  favor,  in  the  presence  of  his 
foes.  His  future  a  dream  of  peace,  roee- 
tinted  with  bright  anticipations.  Was  it 
strange  that  the  king  wept? 

Oh!  how  the  stricken  heart  must  quiver 
and  recoil  at  such  a  summons!  How  must 
the  poor  dazed  intellect  roam  the  confines 
of  human  possibilities,  seeking  an  outlet! 
and  oh !  the  agony,  the  horror !  when  at  last 
baffled  and  bewildered,  the  despairing  cry 
is  wrung  out,  lost !  lost !  Was  it  thus  with 
King  Hezekiah?  O,  no!  Scarcely  had  the 
first  tremor  of  human  weakness  ceased  to 
rack  his  frame,  ere  he  sought  his  accus- 
tomed refuge,  prayer  to  God.  With  stream- 
ing eyes  and  averted  face,  he  prayed : 

"Remember  now,  O  Lord,  I  beseech  thee, 
how  I  have  walked  before  thee  in  truth  and 
with  a  perfect  heart,  and  have  done  that 
which  was  good  in  thy  sight!"  and  he  may 
have  added:  And  now,  O  Lord,  with  my 
work  all  unfinished,  I  am  called  hence!  Oh, 
grant  me  yet  a  few  more  years,  that  I  may 


1 66  Lectures. 

bring  thee  a  few  more  harvest  sheaves,  in 
recompense  of  all  thy  mercies! 

Was  that  prayer  answered?  Why,  before 
the  prophet  had  reached  the  inner  court  of 
the  palace,  on  his  way  from  the  sick  cham- 
ber, the  Lord  commanded  him,  by  the  spirit ; 
"Go  tell  Hezekiah,  thus  saith  the  Lord — the 
God  of  David,  thy  father :  I  have  heard  thy 
prayer,  I  have  seen  thy  tears ;  behold  I  will 
add  unto  thy  days  fifteen  years.  And  this 
shall  be  the  sign  unto  thee  that  the  Lord 
will  do  this  thing  that  he  hath  spoken: 

"Behold,  I  will  bring  again  the  shadow 
of  the  degrees  which  is  gone  down  in  the 
sun-dial  of  Ahaz,  ten  degrees  backward !'' 

Was  this  to  be  simply  an  optical  illusion? 
A  turning  back  of  the  shadow  only,  inde- 
pendent and  irrespective  of  the  true  position 
of  the  sun?  Evidently  not — we  paused  in 
our  Bible  quoting,  at  the  middle  of  the  8th 
verse  of  the  38th  chapter  of  Isaiah ; — the  re- 
mainder of  the  verse  reads  thus:  "So  the 
SUN  returned  ten  degrees,  by  which  degrees 
it  was  gone  down." 

Believer  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures!  how 


Lectures.  167 

do  you  reconcile  these  two  events  with  the 
teachings  of  Copernicus?  I  confess  I  have 
tried,  honestly,  and  without  prejudice — and 
have  failed! 

god's  estimate  of  our  world. 

Let  us  turn  aside  here  for  a  few  moments 
to  consider  what  estimate  our  Heavenly  Fa- 
ther places  on  this  world  of  ours,  and  why 
he  regards  mankind  with  so  much  of  favor : 

We  read  in  Genesis,  that  after  creating 
the  heavens  and  the  earth,  God  created  the 
living  creatures  which  inhabit  earth,  air, 
and  sea.  And  while  among  this  vast  multi- 
tude were  found  the  strength  and  massive- 
ness  of  the  leviathan,  the  noble  usefulness 
of  the  horse  and  ox,  the  swiftness  of  the 
eagle,  the  cunning  of  the  serpent,  yet  among 
them  all,  there  was  found  no  responsible, 
reasoning  head.  All  were  guided  by  a  God- 
given  instinct,  which  though  wonderful,  of 
itself,  is  as  far  removed  from  a  God-given 
intelligence,  as  the  east  is  from  the  west. 

Then,  as  the  crowning  and  finishing  work 


1 68  Lectures. 

of  creation,  God  said,  ^'Let  us  make  man,  in 
our  image,  after  our  likeness."  Thus  we 
read  that  he  created  man  in  his  own  image; 
''In  the  image  of  God  created  he  him ;  male 
and  female,  created  he  them.  And  God 
blessed  them,  and  God  said  unto  them :  ^Be 
fruitful  and  multiply,  and  replenish  the 
earth,  and  subdue  it;  and  have  dominion 
over  the  fish  of  the  sea,  and  over  the  fowl 
of  the  air,  and  over  every  living  thing  that 
moveth  on  the  earth.' " 

Oh!  the  fearful  weight  of  responsibility 
resting  on  him,  who  in  the  light  of  this 
revelation,  presumes  to  reverse  the  real  or- 
der of  events,  by  teaching  us  that  man  was 
developed  on  an  ascending  scale,  or  evolved 
from  the  beast ;  rather  than  admit  the  truth 
of  the  Bible — that  he  originally  came  forth 
from  the  hand  of  his  Creator,  reflecting  the 
beauty  and  grace  and  symmetry  of  the  Di- 
vine Model :  and  that  by  his  own  wickedness 
and  folly  he  has  evolved  the  other  way,  till 
some  copies  have  descended  to  the  level  of 
the  beast. 

But  we  are  grateful  that  enough  of  the 


Lectures,  169 

divine  likeness  still  exists  among  men,  to 
remind  us  of  the  great  honor  God  conferred 
on  this  world  and  its  people,  in  bestowing 
it.  And  as  we  meet  the  graceful  form,  the 
finely  chiseled  features,  the  expressive  eye; 
or  better  still,  the  bright  intellect  and  the 
noble  heart,  we  cannot  but  feel  that  they  re- 
flect, in  some  degree,  their  Great  Original. 

Important  indeed,  must  this  world  be  in 
the  sight  of  Him  who  honored  it  thus  high- 
ly; and  who  has  made  it  the  object  of  his 
fatherly  care — favoring  it  often,  in  its  early 
history,  with  his  divine  presence,  counseling 
and  guiding  mankind; — as  we  read  in  the 
33d  chapter  of  Exodus,  "And  God  spake  to 
Moses  face  to  face,  as  a  man  speaketh  to 
his  friend." 

man's  estimate  of  our  world. 

As  affording  a  most  decided  contrast,  let 
us  now  briefly  examine  man's  estimate  of 
the  world  we  live  in. — In  the  flrst  place,  he 
calls  the  earth,  sun,  moon,  and  all  the  stars 
we  behold  in  the  heavens,  taken  collectively, 


1 70  Lectures. 

"Our  Universe!'^  though  he  says — perhaps 
correctly — that  there  are  other  universes 
besides  ours. 

This  cluster  called  Our  Universe,  besides 
the  earth  and  other  planets,  consists  of  mil- 
lions of  stars: ;  our  sun,  hei  says,  being  one  of 
those  stars;  and  though  appearing  much 
larger  than  the  others,  yet  this  is  only  on 
account  of  its  comparative  nearness  to  us; 
we  being  taught  that  of  the  few  stars  men 
have  taken  the  time  to  measure,  several  are 
many  times  greater  than  the  sun;  yet  they 
give  the  sun  a  diameter  of  866,000  miles,  or 
109  times  that  of  the  earth's;  which  would 
make  the  sun's  volume  more  than  a  million 
times  greater  than  the  earth's. 

As  illustrations  in  the  text-books  and  in 
the  lecture  room  usually  fail  to  give  any- 
thing like  a  correct  idea  of  this  enormous 
difference  in  magnitudes,  we  will  now  give 
a  scaled  perspective  of  those  bodies,  based 
on  present  estimates : — 

We  will  let  the  disc  aS^^  (see  plate  of  appa- 
ratus at  close  of  this  chapter),  represent  the 
sun.    It  is  exactly  nine  feet  one  inch,  or  100 


Lectures.  171 

inches  in  diameter ;  then  the  little  dark  dot 
Ey  on  its  face,  which  is  one  inch  in  diameter, 
will  represent  the  earth. 

Here  we  have  man's  estimate  of  the  rela- 
tive magnitude  and  importance  of  this,  our 
globe. — Such  a  sun  created  to  give  light  on 
such  an  earth?  Why!  it  would — compar- 
ing small  things  with  great — be  like  setting 
all  of  Greater  New  York  on  fire  to  light  the 
statue  of  "Liberty"  in  the  harbor.  Oh !  may 
we  not  pause  and  reflect?  Let  us  seek  for 
more  light  {and  a  little  less  suti)  ere  we 
longer  persist  in  our  wholesale  depreciation 
of  so  grand  a  work  of  God. 

When  our  renowned  American  sculptor, 
Hiram  Powers,  had  given  the  last  finishing 
touch  to  his  great  master-piece,  the  "Greek 
Slave,"  and  withdrew  the  screen  to  admit 
his  admiring  friends,  had  they  passed  indif- 
ferently by  his  crowning  effort,  and  fallen 
to  admiring  some  insignificant  plaster  cast 
in  his  studio,  oh  I  how  would  the  talented 
artist's  heart  have  sunk  in  his  bosom,  for 
lack  of  that  appreciation  which  he  strove 
so  hard  to  merit : — 


1 72  Lectures. 

Our  Heavenly  Father  has  given  to  man 
this  great  and  beautiful  world,  filled  with 
untold  wonders  and  blessings,  for  his  habi- 
tation and  home.  Like  a  spoiled  child,  he 
turns  from  its  beauties  to  contemplate  its 
auxiliaries,  the  stars;  and  to  magnify  them 
in  his  imagination,  into  proportions  deeply 
disparaging  to  this  world  of  ours;  thereby 
confounding  a  portion  of  God's  Word,  and 
leading  the  children  of  men  to  doubt.  Can 
God  be  pleased? 

But  says  the  freethinker,  *'I  don't  know 
about  this  Moses'  history  of  the  Creation ! 
Many  profound  men  of  the  present  day  tell 
us  that  some  portions  of  the  Old  Testament, 
particularly  its  first  books,  are  not  too  well 
authenticated !"  We  will  produce  the  testi- 
mony of  two  witnesses,  to  break  up  this 
stronghold  of  skepticism  and  then  we  will 
rest  this  side  of  our  causei : 

THE  W^ITNESS  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

First,  we  will  call  the  real  Christian ;  the 
immortal  being  who  has  experienced  that 


Lectures.  173 

mystic  Iransformation  which  was  explained 
to  Mcodemus  of  old : 

Don't  yon  remember  how,  before  that  im- 
portant event  of  your  life,  you  regarded  the 
Bible  as  a  book  of  enigmas,  and  perhaps  of 
contradictions,  and  in  great  part  beyond  the 
scope  of  your  comprehension ;  while  adverse 
criticisms  and  charges  of  faulty  transla- 
tions seemed  to  you,  just  and  tenable? 

Don't  you  remember  how  demonstrations 
of  physical  science  appeared  to  your  mind, 
fairly  and  substantially  to  disprove  many  of 
those  passages  which  men  must  receive,  if 
at  all,  on  their  simple  faith  ? 
'  But  there  came  a  time  in  your  history, 
which  comes  once  to  every  man  and  woman, 
when  you  were  impressed  with  a  deep  sense 
of  your  obligation  to  that  Supreme  Author 
of  your  being  whom  we  call  God;  and  with 
a  desire  to  gain  his  pardon  and  favor. 

Unlike  many  of  your  fellow  beings,  you 
entertained  that  angel  visitor,  and  after  due 
repentance,  earnest  seeking,  and  humble 
compliance  with  the  conditions  laid  down 
in  God's  Word,  the  burden  was  rolled  from 


1 74  Lectures. 

off  your  soul,  and  the  glad  light  of  the  Gos- 
pel shone  in — "As  the  wind  bloweth  where 
it  listeth,  and  thou  hearest  the  sound  there- 
of, but  canst  not  tell  whence  it  cometh,  and 
whither  it  goeth.'^  O,  blissful  transition! 
O,  foretaste  of  Heaven ! 

Don't  you  remember,  when  a  child  at 
school,  you  pondered  vainly  some  difficult 
problem,  which  seemed  entirely  made  up  of 
puzzles  and  contradictions,  till  your  teacher 
came  along,  with  gentle  touch,  a  kind  word 
of  encouragement,  changing  a  figure  here 
and  there, — when  lo!  the  solution  burst  on 
your  glad  vision,  just  as  the  wind  bloweth 
where  it  listeth?  "O,  yes!''  you  then  said, 
"I  can  see  it  all  now — so  plain  and  beauti- 
ful, so  consistent  and  true!  Strange  I  could 
not  see  it  before !" 

In  like  manner,  when  God's  hand  was 
stretched  down  to  you,  and  the  beautiful 
Heaven  seemed  just  a  little  overhead,  did 
not  all  doubts  and  perplexities  vanish?  And 
as  his  finger  traced  the  sacred  lines  in  re- 
view for  you,  from  the  last  page  of  Revela- 
tion, back  to  the  first  page  of  Genesis,  did 


Lectures.  175 

not  a  sweet  harmony  run  through  it  all,  and 
a  deep  consciousness  take  possession  of  you 
that  the  Bible  throughout — from  beginning 
to  end — was  glorious,  consistent,  all  true? 
A  consciousness  that  surpassed  belief,  and 
that  was  more  than  simple  faith; — it  was 

KNOWLEDGE ! 

OUR  CHIEF  DEFENSE. 

One  more,  our  principal  witness  and  chief 
defense,  and  then  w^e  shall  deem  cultured 
criticism,  from  a  biblical  standpoint,  fully 
answered.  Would  you  know  who  this  im- 
portant witness,  and  whence  he  comes? — 
Then  give  me  your  attention : 

Nineteen  hundred  years  ago  the  just 
past  Christmas-tide  (1897),  away  among 
the  hills  of  Judea,  overlooking  the  city  of 
Bethlehem,  shepherds  were  watching  their 
flocks  by  night.  All  nature  was  hushed  in 
repose;  no  sound  came  up  on  the  bracing 
night  air  from  the  city  below.  Suddenly  a 
bright  light,  of  most  dazzling  whiteness, 
shone  round  about  them,  and  they  were  sore 


1 76  Lectures. 

afraid.  Looking  upward  to  discover  its 
source,  they  beheld  an  angel,  who  spake 
unto  them  these  words : 

"Fear  not,  for  behold  I  bring  you  good 
tidings  of  great  joy,  which  shall  be  to  all 
people ;  for  unto  you  is  born  this  day  in  the 
city  of  David,  a  Savior,  which  is  Christ  the 
Lord.'^  And  suddenly  there  was  with  the 
angel  a  multitude  of  the  Heavenly  host, 
praising  God,  and  saying:  "Glory  to  God 
in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace — ^good 
will  toward  men." 

That  night,  lying  in  a  manger  within  a 
grotto  or  cavern  used  for  sheltering  domes- 
tic animals,  because  there  was  not  room  for 
her  in  the  inn,  a  modest  and  beautiful  virgin 
maiden  was  delivered  of  a  male  child : — 

The  shepherds  left  their  flocks  and  came 
down  to  Bethlehem,  to  verify  the  strange 
message.  Wise  men  of  the  East,  looking  for 
Him  whose  coming  was  foretold  by  God's 
prophets  centuries  before,  and  discovering 
the  star  which  should  herald  his  advent, 
came  on  to  Jerusalem  to  worship  him.  But 
there  learning  that  Bethlehem  was  to  be  the 


Lectures.  177 

city  of  his  birth,  they  turned  their  footsteps 
thitherward,  and  the  star  went  before  them 
till  it  came  and  stood  over  where  the  young 
child  was.  That  star,  at  least,  behaving 
thus,  could  not  have  been  millions  and  mil- 
lions of  miles  from  earth,  could  it? 

That  child  grew  in  stature  and  wisdom, 
and  in  due  time  developed  into  the  most  re- 
markable man  whose  footsteps  ever  pressed 
this  world  of  our-s.  History,  both  sacred 
and  profane,  bears  record  to  his  wondrous 
works  and  matchless  grace.  Even  his  ene- 
mies could  not  deny  his  miraculous  powers, 
and  we  Christians,  who  have  felt  his  power 
to  save, — we  k^iow  that  he  was  the  Messiah 
which  was  to  come — the  Christ,  the  only 
begotten  Son  of  God.  Let  us  judge  from 
his  own  words  of  his  competence  as  a  wit- 
ness in  this  case : — 

In  that  beautifully  pathetic  prayer  to  the 
Father,  recorded  in  the  17th  chapter  of  St. 
John,  in  the  5th  verse  he  says :  "And  now, 
O  Father!  glorify  thou  me  with  thine  own 
self; — with  the  glory  which  I  had  with 
thee  before  the  world  was!"     In  the  24th 


1 78  Lectures. 

verse  of  the  same  chapter  he  says:  "For 
thou  lovedst  me  before  the  foundation  of 
the  world."  In  the  8th  chapter  of  St.  John, 
58th  verse,  he  also  says,  in  reply  to  a  ques- 
tion of  the  Jews :  "Verily,  verily  I  say  unto 
you;  before  Abraham  was,  I  am!''  Thus 
dating  back  his  personality  over  a  period, 
not  only  covering  all,  but  even  preceding  the 
events  found  recorded  in  Sacred  History. 

Of  his  remarkable  familiarity  with  the 
Scriptures,  we  will  judge,  first  from  the  ad- 
mission of  his  enemies;  who,  while  he  was 
teaching,  or  expounding  the  Scriptures  in 
the  Temple, — "Marvelled!  saying,  how 
knoweth  this  man  letters, — having  never 
learned!"  St.  John,  7:15;  and  next  from 
the  words  of  his  friends,  the  two  disciples 
whom  he  accompanied  when  on  their  way  to 
Emmaus;  and  though  at  first  unrecognized 
by  them,  yet  conversed  in  such  a  spirit  that 
they  were  moved  later  to  exclaim  :  "Did  not 
our  hearts  burn  within  us,  while  he  talked 
with  us  by  the  way,  and  while  he 
opened  to  us  the  Scriptures!"  St,  Luke, 
24:32. 


Lectures.  1 79 

And  now,  what  says  this  most  competent 
witness  of  these  same  Scriptures,  the  Old 
Testament?  In  St.  Matthew,  5 :  17,  he  says 
"Think  not  I  am  come  to  destroy  the  law 
or  the  prophets ;  I  am  not  come  to  destroy, 
but  to  fulfill.'^  In  St.  John,  5 :39,  he  says 
again,  "Search  the  Scriptures;  for  in  them 
ye  think  ye  have  eternal  life:  and  they  are 
they  which  testify  of  me."  And  again  in 
St.  John,  17 :  17.— "Sanctify  them  through 
thy  truth ;  thy  Word  is  truth." 

In  confirmation  of  these  declarations,  we 
would  call  your  attention  to  the  constancy 
with  which  he  refers  to,  and  quotes  from 
the  Old  Testament  from  beginning  to  close; 
always  agreeing,  substantially,  controvert- 
ing or  rejecting — 'Never!  You  will,  I  trust 
bear  with  me  while  I  give  a  few  examples : 

Adverting  to  the  very  beginning  of  crea- 
tion, he  says,  in  reply  to  a  question  of  the 
Pharisees,  concerning  divorcement :  "Have 
ye  not  read,  that  He  who  made  them  at  the 
heginning,  made  them  male  and  female,  and 
said,"  etc.     aS^^.  Mattheiv,  19:  4,  5- 

He  refers  to  that  first  deed  of  violence, 


i8o  Lectures. 

recorded  away  back  in  tlie  4th  chapter  of 
Genesis,  while  foretelling  the  fate  of  the 
scribes  and  Pharisees;  these  are  his  wordS; 
found  in  Matthew,  23 :  35.  "That  upon  you 
may  come  all  the  righteous  blood  shed  upon 
the  earth;  from  the  blood  of  righteous  Abel, 
unto  the  blood  of  Zacharias,  son  of  Barachi- 
as,  whom  ye  slew  between  the  temple  and 
the  altar.'' 

Again  in  Matthew,  24 :  38,  he  refers  to  the 
Flood  in  these  words :  "For  as  in  the  days 
that  were  before  the  Flood,  they  were  eating 
and  drinking,  marrying  and  giving  in  mar- 
riage, until  the  day  that  Noe  entered  into 
the  ark." 

Of  Moses  and  his  writings  in  general,  he 
says  in  John,  5 :46,  47,  "For  had  ye  believed 
Moses,  ye  w^ould  have  believed  me,  for  he 
wrote  of  me ;  but  if  ye  believe  not  his  writ- 
ings, how  shall  ye  believe  my  words." 

Nor  does  he  reject  that  strange  narration 
in  Genesis  concerning  Lot's  wife,  which  the 
men  of  modern  times  have  found  so  hard  to 
believe ;  but  appears  to  give  it  full  credence 
by  commending  the  lesson  it  affords  to  those 


Lectures.  l8i 

who  shall  witness  his  second  appearing.  He 
refers  to  it  in  these  words :  "In  that  day  he 
which  shall  be  upon  the  housetop,  and  his 
stuff  in  the  house,  let  him  not  come  down  to 
take  it  away ;  and  he  that  is  in  the  field,  let 
him  likewise  not  return  back.  Remember 
Lofs  wifer    St.  Luke,  17: 31,  32. 

And  so  far  from  discarding  the  story  of 
Jonah,  which  modern  savants  contend  must 
necessarily  be  a  myth,  he  employs  it  to  sym- 
bolize the  most  memorable  event  of  all  his- 
tory— his  burial  and  glorious  resurrection. 
These  are  his  words,  found  in  Matt.  12:  40. 
*^For  as  Jonas  was  three  days  and  three 
nights  in  the  whale's  belly,  so  shall  the  Son 
of  man  be  three  days  and  three  nights  in 
the  heart  of  the  earth !''  and  by  these  words 
and  their  context  implying,  that  as  Jonas 
was  delivered  living  from  the  whale,  even  so 
should  the  Son  of  God  arise  living  from  the 
tomb.  And  thus  I  might  go  on  and  on,  to 
prove  his  entire  familiarity  and  perfect  ac- 
cord with  the  Old  Testament,  from  begin- 
ning to  end,  but  time  hastens  and  I  forbear. 

Touching  the  importance  given  the  earth 


1 82  Lectures. 

in  God^s  universe,  he  says:  ^Tor  God  so 
loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only  begot- 
ten Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him 
should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life." 
St.  John  J  3: 16.  And  as  indicating  his  own 
knowledge  that  sun,  moon  and  stars  are  at- 
tendants of  the  earth,  he  speaks  of  them  in 
connection  with  his  second  coming,  in  this 
wise :  "Immediately  after  the  tribulation  of 
those  days  shall  the  sun  be  darkened,  and 
the  moon  shall  not  give  her  light,  and  the 
stars  shall  fall  from  heaven,  and  the  powers 
of  the  heavens  shall  be  shaken.''  Bt,  Mat- 
thew 24:29. 

And  now,  in  conclusion,  wherefore 
Christ's  mission?  Was  it  to  redeem  a 
diminutive  and  insignificant  planet,  attend- 
ant on  a  sun  more  than  a  million  times  its 
superior  in  size,  and  yet  that  sun  but  a  star 
of  lesser  magnitude?  Or  was  it  to  redeem 
a  grand  and  spacious  world,  teeming  with 
the  wonders  and  beauties  and  blessings  of 
God's  creation,  and  peopled  with  beings 
created  in  his  own  image,  and  but  a  little 
lower  than  the  angels? 


Lectures.  183 

God's  ways  are  perfect.  The  means  he 
employs  are  always  commensurate  with  the 
importance  of  the  object.  He  sent  on  that 
mission  of  redemption — not  one  of  earth's 
saints;  not  one  of  the  Heavenly  cherubim; 
not  one  of  the  seraphim.  He  sent  his  only 
begotten  Son. 

And  what  the  duties  of  that  mission?  To 
recline  on  flowery  beds  of  ease,  while  spicy 
zephyrs  fanned  his  brow,  and  soft  aeolian 
strains,  in  dulcet  numbers  gently  breathed 
a  world's  submissive  adulation?  Or  to 
mount  the  conqueror's  chariot  and  roll 
triumphant  through  Earth's  empires,  awe- 
ing  and  subduing  by  the  majesty  of  his  Im- 
maculate Presence? 

No !  no !  none  of  these !  His  lot  was  cast 
among  the  poor  and  lowly;  he  came  to  his 
own,  and  his  own  received  him  not.  Cruel 
hatred  and  stubborn  unbelief  opposed  him 
everywhere;  and  after  giving  to  mankind 
the  highest  proofs  of  his  divinity,  inculcat- 
ing the  noblest  lessons  of  true  charity  and 
Godlike  virtue,  and  establishing  a  Christian 
ministry,  later  commissioned  to  evangelize 


184  Lectures. 

and  bless  and  save — the  World! — He  was 
seized  by  his  enemies,  and  crucified! 

The  sun  was  darkened !  The  earth  quak- 
ed! The  vail  of  the  Temple  was  rent  in 
twain — He  yielded  up  the  ghost :  the  sacri- 
fice was  complete. 

And  that  great  sacrifice — was  it  for  a 
comparative  speck  in  God's  universe,  such 
as  man  assumes  this  world  to  be? 


Lectures.  185 


PHYSICAL  APPARATUS. 

The  apparatus  illustrated  on  the  opposite 
page,  besides  various  other  appliances,  not 
shown,  were  designed,  constructed,  and  em- 
ployed b}^  the  author,  to  demonstrate,  step 
by  step,  the  deductions  submitted  in  the  two 
following  lectures;  and  their  successful 
operation  is  explained  by  the  assistance  of 
diagrams  introduced  at  the  proper  places 
throughout  the  lectures. 

The  large  disc,  8^  with  the  small  dot,  E, 
on  its  face,  is  the  one  already  referred  to  on 
page  170,  to  show  comparative  size  of  sun 
and  earth. — A^  is  a  large  mounted  scroll  of 
diagrams,  moving  mechanically,  as  desired, 
from  the  upper,  to  the  lower  roller. 

B,  illustrates  mechanically  the  Sun  Spot 
Paradox  explained  in  Lecture  11. — Cy  is  the 
Equation  of  Time  device, — Dy  the  Aberra- 
tion of  Light, — and  F^  the  apparatus  for 
testing  Kepler's  Second  Law  of  Motion,  in 
Lecture  iii. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

LECTURE   II. — NATURE   VS.    COPERNICUS. 

We  may  perhaps  at  some  time  have  seen 
a  beautiful  edifice,  whose  superstructure 
was  correct,  both  in  outline  and  detail; — 
magnificent  in  proportions,  artistic  in  de- 
sign, gorgeous  in  decoration,  admired  by  all 
beholders;  the  pride  of  its  architect  and 
builders ; — yet  resting  on  an  unsound  base : 
rendering  it  desirable,  for  the  public  good, 
that  its  instability  be  known  of  men. 

May  the  honored  dead,  and  their  living 
representatives^  forgive  my  presumption  in 
concluding  that  such  is  the  noble  monument 
of  thought  and  observation  and  calculation, 
which  we  are  about  to  examine;  and  which 
has  been  built,  block  added  to  block,  by  men 
whose  genius  and  culture  would  sink  in  ig- 
nominy and  despair  my  poor  dwarfed,  mea- 
ger attainments.    But  remembering  it  is  for 


Lectures.  187 

the  Master,  I  must  press  forward;  waiting 
for  justification,  if  must  needs  be,  till  that 
time  when  we  shall  know,  even  as  we  are 
known ;  and  when  our  spiritual  eyes  may  be 
able  to  discern  the  pure  motive  often  lying 
beneath  the  halting,  unsuccessful,  or  per- 
chance mistaken  deed. 

Maintaining  that  the  foundation  of  such 
a  structure  should  be  God  and  his  revealed 
Word,  with  the  operations  of  Nature,  cor- 
rectly observed,  as  material  for  the  building 
of  the  superstruction,  we  will  noAv  proceed 
to  investigate  as  to  the  solidity  of  the  corner 
blocks  on  which  men  have  builded  this  tower 
to  the  skies. 

THE  REFRACTION   OF  LIGHT. 

If  we  hold  a  straight  rod  in  the  water 
obliquely,  we  observe  that  the  part  below 
the  surface  appears  to  be  bent  upward ;  but 
knowdng,  from  the  firmness  of  the  rod,  that 
this  is  not  really  so,  we  are  led  to  discover 
that  the  rays  of  light  passing  through  the 
two  media  of  air  and  water,  are  bent  down- 
ward at  the  water  line.    This,  we  all  under- 


1 88  Lectures. 

stand  is  called  tlie  Refraction  of  Light ;  and 
takes  place  whenever  light  passes  from  a 
rarer  to  a  denser  medium,  and  vice  versa; 
the  degree  of  refraction  depending  on  the 
obliqueness  of  the  rays,  and  the  difference 
in  density  of  the  media. 

In  considering  the  light-refracting  prop- 
erties of  our  atmosphere,  we  might  treat  it 
as  consisting  of  an  infinite  number  of  strata, 
each  lower  stratum  a  trifle  denser  than  the 
one  above  it;  Which  would  have  the  effect 
(as  it  really  does  have)  of  bending  rays  of 
light  passing  obliquely  through  it,  into  that 
infinite  number  of  angles  which  constitute 
a  curve;  the  curvature  or  refraction  being 
greatest  at  the  horizon,  and  decreasing  rap- 
idly toward  the  zenith,  where  it  disappears 
altogether.  So  great  an  obstacle  has  this 
proven  to  correct  observation  of  the  heavens 
that  Sir  Geo.  Airy,  England's  Astronomer 
Royal,  termed  it  The  bane  of  astronomers; 
and  in  my  simplicity  I  shall  go  still  farther, 
by  calling  it  the  vail  which  God  has  drawn 
between  the  known,  and  the  unknown  and 
unknowable. 


Lectures.  189 

To  obviate  this  bar  to  direct  vision,  emi- 
nent observers  and  mathematicians  have 
formulated  tables  of  these  refractions,  as 
they  present  themselves  to  us  at  the  earth's 
surface,  which  are  doubtless  true  records  of 
the  observations  made,  though  they  are  sub- 
ject to  variation  in  different  localities,  and 
different  states  of  the  atmosphere.  But 
they  do  not  appear  to  estimate  the  contin- 
gency that  atmospheric  refraction  may  not 
be  greatest  at  the  immediate  surface,  over 
a  large  portion  of  the  earth ;  since  in  all  but 
the  colder  regions,  the  lower  portion  of  the 
air  becomes  warmed  and  attenuated  by  the 
radiated  and  reflected  heat  it  receives  from 
the  earth,  to  the  extent  of  perhaps  reducing 
the  deflections  of  light  coming  to  it  from 
the  cooler  air  above  by  a  counter  refraction, 
as  shown  by  the  line  c,  in  Fig.  1  (next 
page),  E  representing  a  hemisphere  of  the 
earth,  a  a,  the  surrounding  atmosphere,  the 
closer  lines  representing  the  denser  por- 
tions. 'N  and  B  indicate  the  polar  regions, 
locating  the  equatorial  belt  vertically  at  the 
centre ;  while  tn  and  n  represent  stars,  each 


190 


Lectures. 


sending  a  beam  of  light  (c  and  d)  to  the 
earth. 


COUNTER  REFRACTION. 

In  support  of  this  theory,  we  find  that 
the  air  is  always  more  bracing  in  elevated 
regions  than  in  the  valleys.  Aeronauts  and 
mountain  scalers  also  tell  us  that  at  no 
great  height  above  the  common  level  of  the 


Lectures. 


191 


earth,  even  in  the  tropics,  the  air  is  cold; 
and  we  know  that  some  of  the  higher  moun- 
tains there,  are  capped  with  ice  and  snow, 
Avhile  the  heat  in  the  valleys,  and  on  the 
plains,  is  withering  in  its  intensity. 

The  effect  of  such  a  condition  must  be  to 
so  rarefy  the  lower  portion  of  the  air  as  to 
produce  this  counter  refraction.  And  as  we 
behold  objects  in  the  direction  in  w^hich  the 
rays  of  light  emanating  from  them,  present 
themselves  to  our  eyes,  Ave  naturally  lose 
the  effect  of  that  greater  refraction  in  the 
more  elevated  regions  of  the  air,  which  aer- 
onauts inform  us  is  so  great  that  the  earth 
beneath  them,  instead  of  appearing  like  a 
globe,  as  it  really  is,  actually  looks  like  a 
huge  bowl ;  the  horizon  appearing  lifted  up 
on  all  sides  of  them. 

But  a^  refraction  is  observed  to  be  so 
great  in  the  polar  regions,  we  must  conclude 
that  this  greater  refraction  conies  to  earth 
there,  and  that  it  may  also  be  intensified  by 
the  denser,  frost-laden  air  which  it  encoun- 
ters at  the  earth's  surface,  as  indicated  by 
the  line,  d^  in  Fig.  1, — preceding  page. 


192  Lectures. 

In  refutation  of  such  a  theory,  it  may  be 
argued  that  there  is  the  same  gradual  fall 
of  barometer  when  ascending  elevations  in 
the  tropics  that  there  is  in  higher  latitudes, 
indicating  the  same  steady  change  in  densi- 
ty; and  right  here  permit  me  to  draw  the 
line  between  barometric  pressure  and  true 
atmospheric  density : — 

If  we  fill  a  rubber  bag  slackly  with  air 
in  a  cold  room,  and  closing  it  tightly,  bring 
it  into  a  heated  apartment,  in  a  short  time 
the  confined  air,  becoming  heated,  will  dis- 
tend the  bag  to  double  or  more  its  former 
volume,  and  will  hold  it  distended  after  it  is 
removed  to  the  cold  room  again,  till  it  loses 
its  increased  temperature;  thereby  clearly 
demonstrating  that,  with  the  atmospheric 
density  reduced  one-half,  or  more,  by  the  aid 
of  heat,  the  barometric  pressure  remains  the 
same. 

If  then,  refraction  is  such  an  inconstant 
and  uncertain  quantity,  can  we  anywhere 
obtain  a  reliable  geometrical  parallax  of  a 
heavenly  body?  I  doubt  not,  however,  that 
there  is  a  region  of  the  air,  though  it  is  not 


Lectures.  193 

accessible  for  making  observations,  where 
refraction  is  far  more  constant  than  at  the 
earth's  surface,  and  may  also  be  far  greater 
than  we  have  estimated ;  and  that  is  the  re- 
gion just  above  the  clouds;  where,  relieved 
of  the  earth's  radiated  and  reflected  heat, 
atmospheric  temperature  and  density  must 
be  nearly  uniform,  at  equal  altitudes,  all 
around  the  earth. 

It  may,  however,  be  suggested  that  in  the 
region  referred  to,  the  atmospheric  density 
may  be  less  than  one-half  what  it  is  at  the 
earth's  surface;  and  I  would  reply  that  this 
does  not  affect  my  theory ;  for  so  long  as  the 
air  nearest  to  the  earth  becomes  sufficiently 
rarefied  by  heat  to  cause  a  counter  refrac- 
tion in  receiving  the  rays  of  light  from  the 
cooler  air  directly  above  it,  we  are  unable 
to  correctly  estimate  the  refraction  of  that 
upper  region ;  which,  as  I  have  said,  may  far 
exceed  present  estimates ;  since  refraction  is 
caused,  not  so  much  by  the  greater  abstract 
density  of  media,  but  chiefly  by  the  differ- 
ence in  density. 

Let  us  taJie,  for  example,  the  two  media 


194  Lectures. 

of  air  and  water,  which  differ  in  density  as 
about  1,000  to  1  only,  yet  they  give  results 
far  exceeding  the  refractions  observed  In 
our  lower  atmosphere.  So  might  not  those 
refractions  just  above  the  clouds  give  simi- 
lar results?  For  assuming  that  the  atmos- 
pheric density  there  is  but  one-fifth  what  it 
is  at  the  earth's  surface.  Dr.  Crookes  tells 
us  of  exhausting  air  in  a  receiver  to  a  mil- 
lionth part  of  its  common  density ;  and  is  it 
likely  that  man,  by  mechanical  means,  could 
produce  greater  attenuation  than  always 
exists  in  the  outer  stratum  of  our  atmos- 
phere? Yet  the  figures  quoted  would  give  a 
difference  in  density  between  the  air  of  that 
upper  region  and  the  outer  stratum,  not 
only  of  1,000  to  1,  as  with  air  and  water,  but 
of  200,000  to  1,  or  200  times  greater. 

I  have  observed,  however,  that  astrono- 
mers, in  treating  on  the  subject  of  the  Lunar 
Eclipse,  appear  to  consider  our  whole  atmos- 
phere as  being  the  region  of  cloudland,  but 
the  best  authorities  I  have  been  privileged 
to  consult  on  that  point,  place  the  highest 
cloud  formations  almost  entirely  within  six 


Lectures. 


195 


miles  of  the  earth,  while  beyond,  the  air  is 
clear  and  cold,  and  offers  little  resistance 
to  rays  of  light,  except  that  of  refraction. 


THE  LUNAR  ECLIPSE. 


They  also  tell  us  that  the  umbra,  or  dark 
shadow  of  the  earth  on  the  moon,  indicated 
by  A,  in  Fig.  2, — S  representing  the  sun,  E 


196  Lectures. 

the  earth,  a  a  its  enveloping  atmospliere, 
and  M  the  moon,  partially  eclipsed; — they 
tell  us  that  this  umbra,  A^  is  outlined  or 
circumscribed  by  those  direct  rays  of  the 
sun  which  pass  the  earth  above,  or  outside 
of  its  atmosphere,  or  at  least  so  far  above 
the  earth's  surface,  that  they  suffer  no  sen- 
sible refraction;  while  those  rays  passing 
through  our  atmosphere  are  refracted,  or 
bent  inward  by  it,  and  cast  on  the  umbra ; 
giving  to  the  eclipsed  moon  a  faint  illumina- 
tion, except  when  the  atmosphere  is  cloudy^ 
when  these  rays  are  intercepted,  and  the 
moon  is  left  in  total  darkness ;  and  that  the 
umbra  is  therefore  much  larger  than  the 
moon's  disc — sometimes  as  many  as  5,950 
miles  in  diameter,  and  never  less  than  about 
5,650  miles. 

This  is  the  language,  in  substance,  of  an 
eminent  author  of  astronomical  works,  and 
I  presume  it  fairly  expresses  the  Coper ni can 
view  of  the  subject;  while  the  breadth  of 
umbra  given  is  doubtless,  relatively  to  the 
moon's  estimated  diameter,  correct. 

The  height  of  our  atmosphere  appears  to 


Lectures.  197 

be  variously  estimated  from  40  to  80  miles; 
though  an  eminent  English  astronomer  says 
in  one  of  his  text-books,  ^^There  is  evidence 
to  show  that  we  have  an  atmosphere  of  some 
kind  at  a  height  of  from  400  to  500  miles 
above  the  earth."  Also  an  eminent  Amer- 
ican astronomer  has  said,  "It  is  evident  that 
our  atmosphere  extends  upward  more  than 
100  miles,  while  we  have  no  certain  knowl- 
edge that  it  does  not  extend  out  into  space 
indefinitely." 

Now,  we  find  by  computation,  that  this 
breadth  of  the  earth's  shadow  in  a  Lunar 
eclipse,  to  which  we  have  referred,  is  calcu- 
lated from  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun  (as  is 
shown  in  Fig.  2 ) ,  passing  the  earth  just  50 
miles  above,  or  outside  of  its  solid  surface ; 
and  whether  they  pass  through  the  upper 
and  thinner  portions  of  our  atmosphere,  or 
just  skirt  its  outer  edges,  the  effect  would 
be  the  same  on  all  other  rays  from  the  sun 
passing  below  these,  or  nearer  to  the  earth. 
Let  us  as  briefly  as  possible  consider  what 
that  effect  would  be : 

Our  atmosphere  being  free  from  clouds, 


198  Lectures. 

and  offering  little  resistance  to  rays  of  light 
beyond  a  height  of  six  miles  above  the  earth, 
and  diminishing  in  density  as  it  extends  up- 
ward with  a  constancy  due  to  natural  laws, 
it  is  evident  that  the  next  course  of  rays 
coming  from  the  sun,  inside  the  direct  ones, 
would  be  refracted  slightly  inward  in  pass- 
ing through  the  attenuated  outer  portions 
of  our  atmosphere;  the  next  course  a  little 
more,  and  our  atmosphere  increasing  still 
in  density  toward  the  earth,  the  next  course 
still  more,  and  so  on ;  the  result  being  that 
a  large  percentage  of  those  rays  would,  at 
time  of  central  eclipse,  be  focused  on  the 
face  of  the  moon. 

But  whence,  then,  comes  the  dark  shadow 
we  are  accustomed  to  see  pass  over  the  moon 
in  a  Lunar  eclipse?  Where  among  those  re- 
fracted rays  would  its  line  of  demarkation 
fall  ?  Is  it  not  plain  that  there  would  be  no 
definite  shadow — only  a  light,  penumbral 
shade  of,  perhaps,  unequal  density? 

And  how  would  ever  be  cast  the  totally 
black  shadow,  which  has  on  rare  occasions 
obscured  the  moon  by  total  darkness?  since 


Lectures.  199 

the  clouds,  extending  upward  in  any  event, 
less  than  one-sixth  the  height  of  our  atmos- 
phere, at  least  five^sixths  of  it  must  always 
remain  clear  for  the  rays  of  the  sun  to  pass 
through  it,  and  thus  be  focused,  in  part  at 
least,  on  the  moon? 

But  since  the  moon  is  at  times  eclipsed 
by  this  fairly  well  defined,  and  more  rarely 
by  this  totally  black  shadow,  I  am  convinced 
that  both  are  outlined,  not  by  the  direct,  but 
by  the  refracted  rays  of  the  sun  passing 
through  our  atmosphere. 

This  would  indicate  greatly  reduced  di- 
mensions and  distances  from  earth  of  those 
two  important  bodies,  the  sun  and  moon, 
and  might  be  illustrated  as  in  Fig.  3,  page 
195,  in  which  >Sf  represents  the  sun  sending 
its  rays  to  the  moon  M^  through  the  atmos- 
phere a  a,  of  the  earth  E,  which  they  trav- 
erse as  obliquely  as  possible,  and  therefore 
receive  the  maximum  of  refraction,  both  in 
their  entrance  and  exit. 

As  clouds  are  always  floating  somewhere 
in  our  lower  atmosphere,  and  have  a  decided 
tendency  to  gather  at  the  horizon  which  the 


200  Lectures. 

earth  presents  to  the  sun,  as  we  see  at  its 
rising  and  setting;  and  as  rays  of  sunlight 
just  grazing  this  horizon  must  travel  many 
miles  of  cloudland  of  the  heig'ht  ascertained, 
I  feel  assured  that  comparatively  few  of  the 
sun's  rays  ever  make  their  way  across  this 
cloud-belt,  and  that  the  umbra  of  a  Lunar 
eclipse  is  outlined  wholly  by  those  rays  of 
sunlight  passing  through  that  region  of  the 
air  before  referred  to,  just  above  the  clouds ; 
where  the  uniform  atmospheric  temperature 
and  density  tend  to  give  them  that  uniform 
refraction  on  all  sides  of  the  earth,  which  is 
necessary  to  faithfully  describe  its  circular 
shadow  on  the  moon ;  while  those  rays  only 
which  make  their  way  through  the  cloud- 
belt,  at  remote  parts  of  the  earth,  where 
the  low  temperature  favors  atmospheric 
density  at  the  surface,  are  refracted  enough 
more  than  those  passing  above  the  clouds, 
to  cast  their  diminished  light  on  the  umbra^ 

Note. — The  Lunar  Eclipse  of  the  evening 
of  Dec.  16,  1899,  was  observed  by  me,  and 
viewed  through  a  small  telescope,  presented 
a  beautiful  appearance.    The  sky  was  with- 


Lectures.  201 

out  a  cloud,  the  eclipse  was  nearly  total,  the 
shadow  at  greatest  obscuration  being  of  a 
copper  tinge,  deepening  toward  the  centre. 

When  the  shadow  was  leaving  the  moon, 
and  about  one-third  of  its  disc  was  uncov- 
ered, the  view  was  especially  distinct  and 
satisfactory;  the  shadow  appearing,  rela- 
tively to  the  uncovered  portion  of  the  moon, 
of  a  dark  copper  color,  with  its  edge  though 
a  little  jagged,  yet  very  clearly  defined ;  the 
appearance  forcibly  suggesting  the  passage 
of  the  sun's  rays  over  banks  of  clouds,  and 
thus  most  decidedly  supporting  my  former 
views  on  that  subject. 

CELESTIAL  DISTANCES. 

In  determining  celestial  distances,  the 
distance  of  sun  from  earth  has  received  the 
most  attention,  as  it  supplies  the  basis,  or 
astronomical  unit,  for  calculating  nearly  all 
other  celestial  measurements. 

Of  the  many  ingenious  methods  employed 
from  time  to  time  for  finding  the  solar  par- 
allax, those  which  give  results  incompatible 
with  the  theory  of  Copernicus,  have  been 


202  Lectures. 

entirely  discarded;  while  such  as  gave  re- 
sults fairly  accordant  with  that  theory,  and 
also  with  each  other,  have  been  accredited 
with  various  degrees  of  reliability. 

Tihese  are  mostly  based  on  the  assump- 
tion that  the  Coper ni can  Theory  is  correct; 
the  gravitational  methods,  now  in  favor 
with  astronomers,  further  assuming  the 
correct  application  of  the  law  of  gravity  to 
the  workings  of  the  planetary  system.  The 
physical  method  also  assumes  that  light 
travels  with  the  same  velocity  through  in- 
terplanetary space,  as  in  a  vacuum. 

While  I  am  wholly  incompetent,  and  also 
disinclined  to  criticise  the  physical  experi- 
ments pertaining  to  this  latter  method,  yet 
I  would  suggest  that  the  rays  of  light  from 
Jupiter's  satellites  may  pass  through  a  far 
lighter  sether  in  coming  to  earth,  when  that 
planet  is  in  opposition,  than  when  it  is  in 
conjunction ;  as  it  is  evident  the  rays  must, 
in  the  latter  case,  pass  through  that  region 
surrounding  the  sun,  containing  the  zodi- 
acal light ;  which,  whatever  it  may  be,  inter- 
poses a  something  which  those   rays   must 


Lectures.  203 

tlien  pass  through,  which  they  do  not  have 
to  pass  through  when  the  planet  is  in  oppo- 
sition. And  might  not  those  inequalities  in 
the  eclipse  periods  of  Jupiter's  satellites  be 
largely  due  to  the  light-retarding  influence 
of  a  denser  medium,  or  might  they  not  be 
easily  accounted  for  by  some  other  system 
than  that  of  Copernicus,  without  resort  to 
the  Equation  of  Light? 

My  estimate  of  the  methods  first  named, 
will  be  apparent  when  we  later  take  up  the 
subject  of  Universal  Gravitation ;  while  the 
geometrical  methods  are  all  subject  to  what 
we  have  said,  and  may  say  further  respect- 
ing the  uncertainties  of  refraction.  One  of 
these  methods,  however,  impressed  me  as  be- 
ing so  nearly  independent  of  the  refraction 
of  the  earth's  atmosphere,  as  to  claim  my 
most  earnest  thought — I  refer  to  that  based 
on  a  Transit  of  Venus. 

While  this  method  may  not  rank  highest 
with  modern  astronomers,  yet  it  appeared 
to  me  at  first  to  establish,  independently  of 
any  system,  such  an  immense  distance  for 
the  sun  from  earth,  as  to  place  beyond  all 
doubt   the   correctness    of   the   Copernican 


204  Lectures. 

theory.  But  it  recurred  to  me  that  Venus 
is  accredited  with  having  a  highly  refrac- 
tive atmosphere,  through  which  those  rays 
of  sunligiht  must  pass  which  outline  her 
dark  disc  on  the  face  of  the  sun  during  a 
transit ;  and  might  not  this  condition  cause 
complications  which  have  not  as  yet  been 
properly  estimated?  Let  us  as  briefly  as 
may  be,  examine  this  question : — 

In  Fig.  J^,  (next  page)  E  represents  the 
earth,  ^  the  sun,  and  the  small  dark  disc  c, 
Venus  in  central  transit.  By  the  aid  of  this 
diagram  we  will  now  consider  the  capacity 
of  Venus'  atmosphere  for  refracting  rays 
of  sunlight  passing  through  it. 

Those  rays  passing  through  its  outer  and 
thinner  portions  would  naturally  be  re- 
fracted least,  while  refraction  would  gradu- 
ally increase  centreward,  or  toward  the 
planet. 

The  same  effect  would  thus  be  produced 
as  if  the  rays  were  passing  through  a  lens 
having  a  cross  section  of  the  peculiar  form 
represented  by  a  a,  in  Fig.  If,  which  is 
there  substituted  for  the  planet's  atmos- 
phere. 


Lectures. 


205 


A   TRANSIT   OF   VENUS. 


2o6  Lectures. 

Then,  referring  to  the  diagram,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  the  ray  m^  in  passing  from  sun  to 
earth  will  suffer  little  or  no  refraction  from 
the  lens,  since  it  passes  through  its  nearly 
plane  outer  edge;  but  the  ray  n^  passing 
as  shown,  through  a  highly  refractive  part 
of  the  lens,  will  be  turned  from  its  course 
and  brought  to  a  focus  with  the  ray  niy  at 
the  earth's  surface. 

Observers  at  this  right  hand  earth  sta- 
tion would  then  see  the  sun  in  the  direction 
of  the  angle  of  vision  described  by  m  and  n 
as  they  approach  the  earth,  and  slightly 
enlarged,  as  it  really  appears  during  a  tran- 
sit of  Venus,  while  the  planet  would  appear 
on  its  disc,  as  at  h^  instead  of  at  h\  where 
it  would  appear,  relatively  to  the  sun,  if  it 
were  visible  and  there  were  no  refraction; 
while  observers  at  the  opposite  station,  as 
shown  by  the  dotted  lines,  would  witness 
the  same  result  in  reversed  order,  thereby 
greatly  reducing  the  true  parallax.  This 
might  also  explain  the  cause  of  that  drawn 
out  internal  contact  called  "the  black 
drop''  observed  during  a  Transit  of  Venus. 


Lectures.  2oy 

But  it  will  doubtless  be  objected  that  the 
atmosphere  of  Venus  has  no  such  extent  as 
this  diagram  would  appear  to  give  it;  but 
as  is  evidenced  by  the  narrow,  bright  belt 
which  is  seen  to  encircle  the  planet  when 
entering  on  a  transit,  the  height  of  its  at- 
mosphere must  be  many  times  less  than  its 
own  diameter.  I  would  ansAver  by  suggest- 
ing that  this  luminous,  or  visible  belt  is 
only  the  misty,  or  vapor-charged  portion 
of  the  planet's  atmosphere,  while  the  invisi- 
ble, or  clear  air  beyond  it,  thins  out  gradu- 
ally into  the  rether  of  space. 

Let  us  again,  by  the  aid  of  Fir/.  5.  (page 
205)  consider  what  obstacle  the  atmosphere 
of  our  globe  interposes  to  gaining  a  true 
parallax  of  a  heavenly  body : — 

In  this  diagram,  E  represents  a  hemi- 
sphere of  the  earth,  with  its  atmosphere  a  a, 
while  m  and  n  represent  stars  sending  rays 
of  light  to  the  earth.  Now,  if  we  consider 
this  atmosphere  a  a,  as  a  lens  of  an  equal 
density  throughout,  a  little  knowledge  of 
the  science  of  optics  will  tell  us  that  these 
rays  could  enter  the  lens  at  points  where 


2o8  Lectures. 

they  might  be  refracted  parallel  to,  though 
a  little  removed  from  each  other,  as  shown 
at  the  left  of  the  figure ;  but  if  the  two  rays 
entered  the  lens  a  little  closer  together,  so 
that  they  came  to  a  focus  at  the  earth,  then 
they  would  no  longer  be  refracted  parallel, 
and  we  would  get  a  parallax. 

But  as  our  atmosphere  is  not  of  uniform 
density,  and  does  not  refract  rays  of  light 
thus,  but  in  curved  lines,  as  shown  at  the 
right  of  the  figure:,  is  it  not  equally  clear 
that  these  rays  could  be  brought  together 
on  the  same  plane  at  the  earth's  surface  by 
atmospheric  refraction,  as  is  there  shown? 
And  as  we  behold  objects  in  the  direction 
of  those  portions  of  rays  reaching  our  eyes, 
no  parallax  would  be  obtained;  and  I  be- 
lieve this  to  constitute  the  chief  bar  to  gain- 
ing a  parallax  of  a  heavenly  body  by  ob- 
serving it  from  opposite  sides  of  the  earth. 

And  would  not  this  also  assist  Venus'  at- 
mosphere in  still  further  reducing  the  sun's 
parallax  toward  that  narrow  limit  ob- 
served during  a  transit  of  Venus,  aside 
from  other  possible  causes,  whose  existence 


Lectures.  209 

and  effects  are  not  so  apparent?  These  dia- 
grams are  necessarily  very  much  intensi- 
fied, for  the  sake  of  plainer  illustration,  but 
I  respectfully  commend  the  principles  they 
represent  to  a  careful  consideration. 

But  the  immensity  of  stellar  space  is  con- 
tended for,  from  the  fact  that  the  so-called 
fixed  stars,  observed  through  a  telescope, 
appear  smaller  than  when  viewed  with  the 
unaided  eye;  and  the  larger  the  telescope 
used,  the  smaller  do  they  appear.  Yet  the 
use  of  the  telescope  brings  to  view  myriads 
of  stars  which  the  eye  could  not  discover. 
Astronomers  tell  us  that  this  is  on  account 
of  their  immense  distances  from  us. 

Is  this  sound  logic?  Can  we  conceive  of 
anything  being  so  distant,  that  to  bring  it 
hundreds  of  times  nearer  to  us,  (as  the 
large  telescojDes  do,  optically,)  it  will  ap- 
pear, not  many  times  larger,  but  really 
smaller  than  it  did  before?  Pardon  my  stu- 
pidity. Men  of  Science !  but  I  have  not  been 
able  to  receive  this  theory. 

The  only  conclusion  I  have  been  able  to 
arrive  at  is,  that  the  light  from  those  more 


2IO  Lectures. 

distant  orbs',  in  passing  through  the  aether 
of  space  and  our  adjacent  atmosphere,  has 
already,  on  reaching  us,  suffered  so  much 
from  reflection  and  refraction,  that  all  but 
its  brightest  and  most  direct  rays  have  be- 
come, in  a  manner  polarized,  and  are  extin- 
guished by  further  deflection  in  a  telescope ; 
and  the  more  powerful  the  instrument,  the 
greater  the  reduction. 

That  optical  science  is  not  yet  mastered, 
is  evident  from  the  trustworthy  report  of  a 
party  of  gentlemen  making  investigations  a 
few  years  ago  in  a  certain  branch  of  optics, 
and  who  discovered — or  rather  reaffirmed  a 
former  discovery — that  a  ship  at  sea  whose 
topsails  only  are  visible  to  the  unaided  eye, 
above  the  horizon,  may  be  brought  fully  in 
view  by  the  use  of  the  telescope. 

This  report  was,  however,  I  think,  pretty 
generally  discredited  by  the  scientists ;  and 
while  I  have  made  no  special  observations 
in  that  direction,  yet  I  am  inclined  to  accept 
it,  from  the  fact  that  when  serving  in  my 
country's  navy,  whenever  during  a  "mast- 
head lookout"  I  reported  a  sail  just  barely 


Lectures. 


211 


visible  to  my  unaided  eye  above  the  horizon, 
the  officer  of  the  watch,  though  60  feet  be- 
low me,  would  level  his  glass  in  the  direction 
indicated,  and  soon  respond,  ^'I  see  it!" 

But  how  could  this  be  possible?  I  have 
made  no  careful  study  of  the  subject,  but 
the  first  thought  occurring  to  me  was,  that 
visible  objects  emit  rays  of  light  differing 
in  refrangibility,  which  are  refracted  in  dif- 
ferent degrees  in  passing  through  an  atmos- 
phere of  unequal  density;  the  more  direct 
ones  only  being  able  to  form  an  image  of  a 
distant  object  on  the  retina  of  the  unaided 
eye;  while  those  which  are  refracted  much 
more,  may  yet  be  collected  by  the  use  of  the 
telescope  in  sufficient  numbers  to  convey  to 
the  assisted  eye  the  image  of  an  object  that 
is  really  below  the  horizon. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  the  discovery  referred 
to  leads  me  to  believe  that  we  have  much 
to  learn  yet  in  the  science  of  Optics. 

But  leaving  now^  the  subject  of  refraction 
of  light,  we  will  proceed  to  consider  some 
of  the  peculiarities  of  that  great  fountain  of 
light,  the  sun  itself. 


212  Lectures. 


THE  SUN  SPOT  PARADOX. 

The  theory  appears  to  be  still  accepted 
that  the  central  mass  of  the  sun  is  a  smaller 
body  inside  the  luminous  shell  wMch  we  see, 
and  which  is  known  as  the  photosphere,  or 
light-giving  sphere  of  the  sun.  This  photo- 
sphere appears  to  consist  of  highly  incan- 
descent vapors,  in  which  there  are  at  times 
dark  depressions,  observable  by  the  aid  of 
the  telescope,  commonly  called  sun  spots; 
which,  moving  as  they  do  across  the  sun's 
disc,  have  enabled  astronomers  to  not  only 
discover,  by  close  and  continued  observation, 
that  the  sun  turns  around,  but  to  estimate 
the  time  and  direction  of  its  rotation,  with 
the  inclination  of  its  axis. 

In  astronomical  text-books  we  frequently 
see  a  diagram,  as  in  Mg.  6,  (next  page)  for 
indicating  the  direction  of  these  spots  on  the 
sun's  disc  at  different  periods  of  the  year; 
the  straight  lines  and  arrows  showing  their 
course  in  June  and  December,  and  the 
curved  lines  the  same  in  September  and 
March,  as  seen  from  the  earth. 


Lectures.  213 


The  text-books,  however,  usually  have  the 
axis  of  h  and  d^  vertical  in  perspective.  I 
discovered  that  this  was  an  error;  but  as 
an  eminent  American  astronomer  used  that 
form  of  illustration  in  one  of  his  text-books 
I  corresponded  with  the  gentleman  concern- 
ing the  matter ;  and  after  due  consideration 
he  admitted  the  error  by  further  explaining 
that  at  the  periods  of  the  year  indicated, 
the  paths  of  the  sun  spots,  as  seen  from  the 
earth,  do  not,  and  could  not  appear  thus; 
but  in  a  manner  indicating  the  inclination 
of  the  sun's  axis,  relatively  to  the  earth's 
axis,  as  in  h  and  dy  in  the  figure. 

This,  in  a  Copernican  system,  would  indi- 
cate that  the  sun's  axis  is  inclined  nearly  in 


214  Lectures. 

the  direction  of  the  equinoctial  points;  the 
apparently  side  view  a  presenting  itself  to 
us  in  June,  the  other  side  view  c^  when  we 
get  directly  on  the  opposite  side  in  Decem- 
ber; the  partially  end  view  h  nearly  at  the 
September  equinox,  and  d  in  March. 

The  first  impression  I  received  from  this 
figure  and  its  accompanying  explanation  in 
the  text-book  was,  that  it  gave  substantial 
proof  of  the  earth  indeed  traveling  around 
the  sun ;  for  how  could  the  sun  present  these 
different  phases,  except  it  were  viewed 
from  different  points  of  observation? 

But  as  I  pursued  the  subject  further,  I 
found  by  experiment  that  if  the  earth  were 
at  the  centre,  and  the  sun  revolving  around 
it  in  the  earth's  supposed  annual  orbit,  the 
sun's  axis  meanwhile  being  constantly  in- 
clined in  the  direction  of  some  fixed  point  in 
the  heavens,  the  course  of  the  sun  spots,  as 
seen  from  the  earth  at  the  four  periods  indi- 
cated, would  appear  as  shown  in  the  figure; 
and  that  in  this  case  Earth  around  Sun,  and 
Sun  around  Earth,  are  reciprocal,  or  inter- 
changeable terms. 


Lectures.  215 

These  sun  spots,  however,  do  not  appear 
to  move  with  a  uniform  velocity ;  but  C07itra 
to  what  might  be  expected,  those  farthest 
from  the  sun's  equator,  and  therefore  having 
the  lesser  circumference  to  travel,  appear  to 
us  to  take  the  greater  time  in  going  around 
it_apparently  about  27  days ;  while  those 
nearest  its  equator,  and  having  the  greater 
circumference  to  travel,  appear  to  go  round 
it  in  about  25  days. 

As  the  light,  floating,  vaporous  photo- 
sphere would  be  likely  to  remain  quiescent, 
except  as  it  is  carried  along  by  friction  with 
the  rotating  inner  mass  of  the  sun,  the  nat- 
ural tendency  would  be,  for  those  portions 
to  fall  behind  which  have  the  larger  circuit 
to  travel ;  but  as  a  matter  of  fact,  this  order 
appears  to  us,  reversed. 

Now,  if  the  sun  really  is  the  centre  of  our 
planetary  system,  and  is,  relatively  to  the 
earth's  orbital  motion,  at  rest,  except  as  it 
turns  on  its  ax^is,  then  viewed  at  the  great 
distance  lying  between  us  and  the  sun,  these 
sun  spots  must  certainly  go  around  it  in 
the  order  in  which  they  appear  to  us  to 


2i6  Lectures. 

move, — that  is,  those  nearest  to  its  equator 
going  around  it  in  the  shortest  time :  which, 
however,  astronomers  concede  is  the  oppo- 
site of  what  might  be  expected,  being  en- 
tirely inconsistent  with  natural  results. 

Experimenting  with  a  view  to  ascertain- 
ing if  this  paradoxical  behavior  of  the  sun 
spots  (from  a  Oopernican  standpoint) 
would  not  harmonize  with  natural  results 
in  some  other  system.  I  finally  produced  an 
apparatus  which  gives  very  interesting  re- 
sults. It  is  designated  by  the  letter  B,  in 
group  of  physical  apparatus,  page  185 ;  and 
its  primary  parts  outlined  in  the  diagram, 
Fig.  1y  next  page,  which  I  will  describe  as 
follows : 

The  two  circular  areas,  E  and  S,  repre- 
sent respectively  the  earth  and  the  sun.  The 
axis  of  the  earth  disc,  E,  has  its  bearings 
in  the  standard,  A,  and  is  driven  by  a  crank 
secured  to  it.  The  arm,  B,  to  which  the  sun 
disc,  /Sf^  is  pivoted,  is  connected  by  gearing 
with  the  earth-axis,  so  that  when  the  earth 
disc  is  rotated  in  one  direction,  the  sun  disc 
is  carried  slowly  around  it  in  the  opposite 


Lectures. 


217 


direction,  describing  the  orbit  shown  by  the 
dotted  circle  in  the  figure. 


B3.% 


SUN  SPOT  APPARATUS. 

In  illustrating  with  this  apparatus,  the 
earth  disc  E,  is  caused  to  turn  on  its  axis 
from  west  to  east,  or  counter-clockwise,  one 
complete  rotation  in  time  representing  25 


2i8  Lectures. 

hours  and  49  minutes,  while  the  sun  disc  & 
revolves  in  the  opposite  direction,  as  shown 
by  the  arrows,  in  a  fraction  over  14  days; 
or  in  such  time  as  to  come  into  conjunction 
with  the  earth-point  of  observation  (the  ra- 
dial line  Cy)  every  24  hours.  The  days  are 
indicated  by  a  bell,  which  is  struck  at  each 
of  these  conjunctions. 

The  sun  figure  S^  is  composed  of  two 
separate  discs,  one  smaller  than  the  other, 
and  each  bearing  a  sun  spot  on  its  margin, 
as  is  shown.  These  discs  are  rotated  inde- 
pendently, but  in  the  same  direction,  on  the 
sun  axis,  by  means  of  separate  belt  connec- 
tions with  the  central  shaft,  or  earth  axis; 
the  outer,  or  equatorial  sun  spot  appearing 
from  c  to  go  round  the  sun  in  the  opposite 
direction  to  its  orbital  motion,  in  25  days; 
while  the  inner  spot  takes  27  days. 

In  demonstrating  this,  both  sun  spots  are 
brought  opposite  to,  or  in  conjunction  with 
the  semi-meridian  c^  and  the  apparatus  set 
in  motion,  while  the  bell  calls  off  the  days. 
In  just  the  periods  above  indicated,  these 
i^pots  will  respectively  appear  to  go  around 


Lectures.  219 

the  sun  figure,  by  coming  to  conjunction 
again  with  the  earth  meridian,  c. 

But  this  only  gives  the  apparent  periods 
of  revolution  of  the  sun  spots,  as  seen  from 
the  earth,  while  the  sun  is  always  changing 
its  position,  relatively  to  the  earth,  in  mov- 
ing around  it.  The  question  now  arises, — 
What  are  the  absolute  periods  of  these  sun 
spots;  or  in  what  time  do  they  absolutely 
go  around  the  sun? 

We  can  determine  this  by  reducing  the? 
central  mass  of  the  sun  to  a  state  of  rest — 
that  is,  deprive  it  absolutely  of  all  rotation, 
and  then  note  how  the  sun  spots  will  move 
relatively  to  it.  We  will  accomplish  our 
purpose  by  loosely  pivoting  the  small  dark 
disc  Dy  (at  left  of  figure)  to  the  sun's  axis, 
to  represent  its  central  portion.  It  carries 
a  pointer  H^  and  a  weight  TT^  on  the  oppo- 
site side,  which  by  the  force  of  gravity  will 
keep  it  always  in  the  same  position — that 
is,  absolutely  without  rotation,  the  pointer 
always  being  directed  upward. 

If  we  now  turn  the  apparatus  in  the  same 
direction  as  before,  starting  with  both  sun 


220  Lectures. 

spots  exactly  at  the  pointer,  and  note  how 
they  move  relatively  to  it,  with  no  reference 
to  the  earth  whatever,  we  will  discover  that 
they  not  only  go  round  the  sun  ( relatively  to 
the  pointer)  in  the  opposite  direction  to  the 
one  they  appeared  to  move  in  before,  as  seen 
from  the  earth,  but  that  the  inner  spot  will 
now  complete  its  circuit  first,  by  coming  to 
conjunction  with  the  pointer  again  in  just 
29  days,  while  the  outer,  or  equatorial  spot 
falls  behind,  and  will  not  come  to  conjunc- 
tion with  the  pointer  under  three  days  more ; 
making  its  absolute  period  32  days,  while 
that  of  the  inner  spot  is  but  29  days. 

This  result,  it  will  be  seen,  completely 
obliterates  the  Copernican  paradox;  as  the 
sun  spots  now  move  in  the  order  we  might 
expect  them  to  move,  thereby  accounting  in 
a  natural  way  for  that  mysterious  factor  in 
the  sun's  rotation,  its  apparent  Equatorial 
Acceleration. 

Men  of  Science!  is  there  not  a  deep  sig- 
nificance in  this?  Here  we  have  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  phenomena  (viewed  in  the 
light  of  Copernicus) — a  condition  utterly 


Lectures. 


221 


irreconcilable  with  his  theory,  under  natural 
laws,  which  yet  gives  evidence,  through  a 
fair  and  positive  mechanical  demonstration, 
of  being  in  natural  and  perfect  harmony 
with  that  cosmic  system  outlined  in  the  Sa- 
cred Scriptures. — A  system  that  obeyed  the 
command  of  a  Joshua,  and  gave  heed  to  the 
pathetic  prayer  of  a  Hezekiah ;  whose  won- 
drous workings  were  pondered  and  extolled 
by  the  philosophic  Job,  and  whose  praises 
sung  by  the  poetic  David. — A  system  that 
survived  the  wisdom  of  a  Solomon,  and  was 
mirrored  in  the  prophetic  vision  of  Ezekiel. 
Shall  a  few  words  soberly  and  considerately 
spoken  in  its  defense,  be  denied  a  sober  and 
considerate  hearing? 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

LECTURE    III. — NATURE    VS.    COPERNICUS. 

In  observing  the  movements  of  the  heav- 
enlj  bodies,  many  inequalities  have  been 
discovered  from  time  to  time, — some  of 
slight  significance,  but  among  them  one  of 
that  important  body,  the  sun,  early  became 
conspicuous,  which  is  of  such  a  magnitude 
that  the  Coper nican  school  have  given  it 
much  a.ttention  in  the  past,  and  after  long- 
continued  and  patient  measuring  and  modi- 
fying, trimming  and  adjusting,  they  have 
adapted  their  theory  to  fit  it  very  well,  and 
now  employ  it  as  one  of  the  strong  pillars 
of  its  support.  I  refer  to  that  inequality 
treated  on  in  astronomical  works  under 
title  of, 

EQUATION  OF  TIME. 

When  I  first  took  up  this  subject,  failing 
to  be  a  good  enough  mathematician  to  quite 


Lectures.  223 

understand  the  Copernican  solution  of  the 
problem,  I  fell  to  doubting  its  correctness; 
and  to  settle  the  matter,  I  constructed  an 
apparatus  (indicated  by  C,  in  group  of  ap- 
paratus, page  185)  for  mechanically  testing 
the  same,  in  which  the  earth  is  represented 
by  a  globe  adapted  to  move  around  the  sun- 
centre  in  the  earth's  supposed  annual  orbit, 
complying  faithfully  with  Kepler's  law  of 
"equal  areas  in  equal  times/'  and  all  other 
conditions  of  the  Copernican  theory. 

When  my  de^dce  was  completed,  I  confi- 
dently expected  that  it  would  disclose  to  me 
an  error ;  but  in  this  I  was  disappointed,  for 
as  I  carefully  moved  the  globe  through  its 
orbit,  the  indicator  traced  on  its  surface 
with  strict  fidelity  those  devious  transverse 
paths  indicated  by  the  heavy  double  looped 
line  at  the  centre  of  Fig.  8,  (the  next  page), 
which  paths  mark  those  variations  of  the 
sun  throughout  the  year  from  the  meridian 
of  mean,  or  clock  time,  (the  horizontal  line 
^  ls[)j  which  are  recorded  in  our  almanacs 
in  the  column,  "Sun  fast,"  and  "Sun  slow." 

As  it  traced  this  looped  circuit,  which  I 


224 


Lectures. 


had  drawn  from  tables  in  the  Ephemeris, 
and  knew  to  be  correct,  I  stood  in  silent  awe 
contemplating  the  wonderful  accuracy;  and 


11 

1 

*      f             1 

1      1      t      1          1 

i  i  i-i-- 

1      '      '      1          1 

AWi 

1  i  'V]. 

•      •      '    ^* 

/  jij   i 

'   «   '      '        ^ 
1  ,   1      •  '         *^ 

'  1   •      t  '           \ 

/      Mi: 

! : '   I  i 

1  '  .                  \ 

/        iiiiiii 

!  1  •  ! 
1  '       1              \ 

•  •'III              \ 

^\           [^^H:? 

.'•'111 

'.              .'ill!'! 
ill!:! 

'   i  1    •     1          1 

'  1  •                  • 

\    ii;i;i: 

1 1  i  1 

1  ;  1  !  1  !         / 

\d\\\:\\ 

•           1     •     ,    1                ' 

i  i  1  :  !  i  ,-'-' 

>•  ,•  •  1  I  1 

•     1    1^    1       .      1       1 

'    •    1    1    •   1  » 

Ki'iii      , 

1    1   1   >   *  ■ 
1          III 
1 

s 


Fig.  8, — SPIRAL  ORBIT  OP  SUN 


Lectures.  225 

surpassing  genius  of  the  master  minds  who 
had  elaborated  the  system. 

So  the  result  of  my  first  experiment  with 
the  apparatus  only  gave  me  the  small  satis- 
faction of  having  made  a  mechanical  success 
of  my  work,  while  its  real  object  appeared 
defeated.  But  I  did  not  rest  well  under  de- 
feat ;  and  on  carefully  reviewing  the  matter 
I  found  that  I  could  so  transpose  its  pri- 
mary parts  as  to  have  the  earth  in  the  cen- 
tre and  the  sun  going  round  it  in  the  earth's 
orbit;  and  that  by  strict  compliance  with 
all  the  conditions  of  the  first  experiment, 
precisely  the  same  results  Y\^ould  be  ob- 
tained ;  and  that  in  this  case  also,  as  in  that 
of  the  sun  spot  problem,  Earth  around  Sun, 
and  Sun  around  Earth,  are  reciprocal 
terms. 

But  how  would  I  reconcile  the  apparent 
annual  revolution  of  the  sun  with  that  semi- 
monthly revolution  indicated  by  the  device 
for  illustrating  the  sun  spot  paradox? 

In  Fig.  8,  we  assume  the  earth  to  lie  nt 
the  centre  of  the  outlying  dotted  circle,  its 
axis  being  in  line  with  ^  N;  while  the  solid 


226  Lectures. 

vertical  lines  represent  the  circuits  of  the 
sun's  spiral  orbit  in  revolving  from  east  to 
west  around  the  earth,  in  a  little  more  than 
14  days,  and  in  moving  also  from  north  to 
south,  or  from  solstice  to  solstice;  the  dot- 
ted lines  showing  the  same  in  returning.  It 
will  be  observed  that  the  circuits  of  this 
spiral  orbit  are  broader  over  the  northern 
than  over  the  southern  hemisphere,  thereby 
producing  Aphelion  and  Perihelion. 

I  have  found  that  a  movement  like  this 
would  cause  the  sun,  as  seen  from  the  earth, 
to  appear  perfectly  to  describe  that  inclined 
annual  orbit  on  the  plane  of  the  ecliptic, 
now  called  the  earth's  orbit,  by  the  stars 
revolving  around  the  earth  in  the  same  di- 
rection as  the  sun,  (from  east  to  west,)  but 
enough  faster  to  gain  one  complete  revolu- 
tion on  the  sun  in  a  year;  which  would  give 
the  sun  the  appearance  of  moving  eastward 
among  the  stars. 

It  is  a  remarkable  coincidence,  that  the 
areas  described  on  either  side  of  the  equator 
by  the  looped  circuit  of  sun  variations,  ( see 
Fig.  8y)  bear  an  almost  perfect  inverse  pro- 


Lectures.  227 

portion  to  the  land  areas  in  tlie  hemispheres 
of  the  earth  over  ^^hich  they  respectively 
extend ;  yet  it  may  have  no  significance. 

But  astronomers  tell  us  they  have  one 
direct  and  conclusive  proof  that  the  earth 
moves  around  the  sun, — not  the  sun  around 
the  earth.  And  though  they  admit  that  it 
is  the  only  direct  proof  they  have,  yet  from 
its  infallibility,  they  esteem  it  all-sufficient. 
This  strong  tower  of  their  defense  is  called, 

THE    ABERRATION    OF    LIGHT. 

Standard  astronomical  text-books  define 
Aberration  substantially  as  follows : 

It  was  long  since  observed  that  the  so- 
called  fixed  stars  have  each  an  apparently 
independent,  small,  annual  movement;  those 
in  the  ecliptic  appearing  to  oscillate  a  little 
backward  and  forward,  those  near  the  poles 
of  the  ecliptic  apparently  describing  small 
circles,  while  at  intermediate  places  they 
describe  ellipses,  more  or  less  drawn  out. 

Certainly  it  would  have  been  absurd  to 
conclude  that  all  the  stars  really  have  these 


228  Lectures. 

separate  movements,  but  the  appearances 
having  been  duly  verified,  astronomers  soon 
began  to  inquire  for  the  cause. 

The  discovery  having  already  been  made 
that  light  takes  a  definite  time  in  coming 
from  a  celestial  body  to  the  earth,  the  theo- 
ry was  advanced  and  adopted,  that  since  the 
earth  also  moved  round  tlie  sun  at  the  rate 
of  nearly  66,000  miles  an  hour,  these  two 
causes,  operating  together,  produced  those 
apparent  movements  which  we  have  de- 
scribed. 

The  natural,  or  at  least  superficial  deduc- 
tion likely  to  be  drawn  from  such  a  theory 
would  be,  that  as  light  emanating  from  a 
celestial  body  takes  some  time  to  reach  the 
rapidly  moving  earth,  we  would  get  ahead 
of  the  star,  and  would  have  to  look  back  to 
see  it;  but  we  are  told  that  the  reverse  is 
the  case — ive  look  ahead  to  see  the  star. 

Astronomers,  in  formulating  their  theory 
to  meet  this  condition,  compare  descending 
rays  of  light  to  drops  of  falling  rain ;  and  a 
favorite  illustration  with  them  is,  that  if  in 
running  through  the  rain  we  hold  upright  a 


Lectures,  229 

tube  resembling  that  of  a  telescope,  but 
open  at  the  ends,  those  rain-drops  entering 
the  top  of  the  tube  will  not  fall  through  it, 
but  owing  to  our  rapid  forward  movement, 
the  rear  side  of  the  tube  will  have  been 
carried  ahead  sufficiently  to  catch  the  drops 
in  their  descent,  and  in  order  to  have  them 
fall  through  the  tube,  we  must  lean  it  ahead 
as  we  would  carry  an  umbrella  when  mov- 
ing rapidly  in  the  rain.  Then  for  rain 
substitute  light,  and  the  earth's  movement 
for  your  own,  they  say,  and  you  have  what 
we  term  Aberration. 

This  is  plausible,  but  is  it  correct  reason- 
ing? In  the  first  place,  what  analogy  is 
there  between  rain-drops  and  rays  of  light? 
Are  they  not  simply  little  globules  of  water, 
without  continuity  or  linear  dimension? 
But  light  comes  to  us  in  continuous  rays, — 
no  section  of  a  ray  so  short  but  that  it  has  a 
linear  dimension  and  determinate  direction, 
of  which  the  eye  takes  cognizance. 

We  will  now  use  a  kind  of  mechanical  di- 
agram for  studying  a  beam  of  light  having 
those  characteristics  which  science  ascribes 


230  Lectures. 

to  it.     In  Fig.  9,  the  line  A  represents  the 
earth's  orbit ;  E  a  portion  of  the  earth,  and 


Fig.   9. — ^ABERRATION. 

B  a  star  sending  a   beam  of  rays  to  earth; 
while  G  represents  one  of  those  huge  re- 


Lectures.  231 

fleeting  telescopes,  used  for  exploring  the 
heavens.  It  is  inclined  in  the  direction  the 
earth  moves,  for  aberration,  and  is  ready  to 
observe  the  star  B,  in  passing. 

Now  if  we  consider  this  beam  of  rays  as 
being  stationary,  like  their  source,  the  star, 
(relatively  to  the  earth's  orbital  motion,) 
then  as  the  telescope  moves  along  with  the 
earth,  it  cuts  through  theae  stationary  rays, 
and  immediately  they  descend  into  the  tube 
without  any  change  of  direction  whatever, 
and  precisely  as  if  the  earth  had  stopped 
after  carrying  that  telescope  directly  be- 
neath them, — except,  that  as  the  earth  moves 
in  its  orbit  with  about  the  one  ten-thou- 
sandth part  of  the  velocity  of  light,  a  tele- 
scope like  Lord  Rosse's,  with  a  tube  7  feet  in 
diameter  and  52  feet  long,  would  be  carried 
ahead  one-sixteenth  of  an  inch  while  the  rays 
were  descending  from  the  top  to  the  bottom 
of  the  tube,  and  a  little  less  than  a  one  thir- 
teen-hundredth part  of  them  would  theo- 
retically be  cut  off  from  the  speculum  ^  be- 
low, by  the  front  of  the  tube. — Theoretical- 
ly I  say,  but  not  really  so;  for  since  the 


232  Lectures. 

speculum  is  but  6  feet  in  diameter,  it  neces- 
sarily has  a  margin  of  6  inches  around  the 
inside  of  the  seven  foot  tube. 

Is  not  this  a  truthful  presentation  of  the 
case?  But  wherein  exists  then  the  obstacle 
to  direct  vision — where  does  the  aberration 
come  in  ?  Do  we  not  see  the  star  by  its  direct 
rays  falling  on  the  speculum,  and  therefore 
see  it  just  where  it  is? 

But  it  may  be  suggested  that  I  have  used 
the  reflecting  telescope  in  illustrating,  be- 
cause it  suits  my  purpose  best ;  and  as  this 
important  question  deserves  to  be  treated 
ifairly,  we  will  also  consider  what  results  a 
^^Kefractor"  would  give : 

Assuming  that  the  tube  of  our  refracting 
lelescope  is  pointed  in  the  exact  direction  of 
a  ray  of  light  coming  from  a  distant  star, 
end  that  this  ray  passes  through  the  centre 
of  its  object-glass,  if  the  telescope  were  at 
rest,  the  ray  would  pass  down  the  tube,  di- 
rectly to  the  centre  of  the  eye-piece  below. 
But  as  the  eye-piece  and  object-glass  are 
both  carried  ahead  by  the  earth's  motion, 
the  ray  would  fall  slightly  behind  the  centre 


Lectures.  233 

of  the  eye-piece — unless  we  inclined  our  tel- 
escope a  little  in  the  direction  of  its  motion. 

Ah!  the  novice  will  triumphantly  say,  I 
thought  so !  But  the  man  of  science  will  at 
once  see  that  we  have  only  been  considering 
the  results  due  to  a  piece  of  plain  glass  for 
an  objective,  with  no  refractive  power  what- 
ever. Let  us  now  exchange  this  for  a  more 
correct  form  of  objective — ^a  plano-convex 
lens.     (See  sectional  cut  D  in  Fig.  9.) 

This  objective  has  the  power  to  refract 
all  rays  of  light  falling  perpendicularly  any- 
where on  its  plane  outer  surface,  practically 
to  the  centre  of  the  eye-piece,  at  the  other 
end  of  the  tube,  and  a  ray  passing  through 
this  objective,  would  as  before,  on  account 
of  the  advance  of  the  earth  in  its  orbit,  pass 
a  little  toward  the  rearward  edge  of  the 
objective  in  descending  the  tube;  but  unlike 
when  it  passed  through  the  plain  glass,  it 
would  now,  as  shown  by  its  four  positions 
at  D,  in  the  figure,  be  refracted,  or  turned 
forward  precisely  the  distance  that  the  eye- 
piece and  objective  were  carried  ahead;  or 
in  short,  it  would  be  focused  on  the  centre 


234  Lectures. 

of  the  eye-piece  at  whatever  part  of  the  lens 
the  ray  passed  through;  clearly  requiring 
no  forward  inclination  of  the  tube  to  convey 
it  to  the  eye  of  the  observer. 

This  theory  of  aberration,  however,  gains 
its  chief  support  from  yet  another  branch  of 
astronomical  research,  which  appears  to  be 
in  harmony  with  it,  and  it  is  the  proud  boast 
of  the  Copernican  school  that  they  could  not 
be  made  to  agree  in  any  other  system  than 
their  own.     This  important  coadjutor  is — 

STELLAR  PARALLAX. 

Measuring  the  parallax  of  a  star,  we  are 
told  is  the  most  delicate,  and  it  seems  to  us, 
the  most  indefinite  operation  in  practical 
astronomy.  Of  tlie  two  principal  methods 
employed,  that  called  the  ahsolitte,  is  found 
to  be  so  sensitive  to  temperature  effects, — 
unequal  refractions,  varying  expansions  of 
instruments,  etc. — as  to  rather  give  to  the 
other,  or  differential  method  the  preference. 
This  latter  method,  however,  as  its  name 
implies,  only  gives  comparative  results,  and 


Lectures.  235 

is  devoid  of  that  precision  which  alone  can 
satisfy  the  unbiased  practical  mind. 

But  what  more  particularly  interests  us 
at  this  point  is,  in  what  way  does  it  fortify 
the  theory  of  aberration? — In  Fig.  10 ^  (next 
page)  the  large  circle  represents  the  earth's 
orbit,  with  the  sun  near  its  centre,  while 
the  small  circles  represent  the  earth  at  the 
four  quarters  of  its  annual  circuit.  Each 
earth  figure  carries  a  huge  telescope,  for 
observing  a  distant  star  lying  overhead,  in 
the  direction  of  the  dotted  line  c  c. 

Now,  if  aberration  and  parallax  came  to- 
gether, it  would  be  easy  to  dispose  of  the 
former,  by  calling  the  visible  displacements 
all  parallax;  but  we  find  that  they  really 
do  come  just  90°  apart;  and  since  it  is  clear 
that  a  parallax  of  that  star,  in  the  direction 
of  G  G,  could  only  be  gained  from  the  two 
outlying  points  E,  P.  and  W.  P.,  the  inter- 
mediate places,  E.  A.  and  TF.  A.  must  nec- 
essarily be  the  aberration  points,  or  points 
of  maximum  aberration ;  and  while  at  E.  P. 
and  W.  P.  we  theoretically  incline  our  tele- 
scope less  than  1"  of  arc  for  observing  the 


236 


Lectures. 


greatest  stellar  parallax,  we  have  it  inclined 
at  E.  A.  and  W.  A.  20"  for  aberration. 


Fig,  10, — ^ABERRATION  AND  PARALLAX. 

Is  not  this,  after  all,  overwhelming  proof 
of  the  correctness  of  aberration,  as  well  as 


Lectures.  237 

of  the  Copernican  theory?  Or  is  there  some 
other  system  under  which  these  conditions 
could  be  made  to  harmonize?  This  was  the 
hardest  problem  that  I  ever  encountered, — 
and  when  the  solution  was  finally  reached, 
it  appeared  about  the  simplest.  I  will  now 
endeavor  to  give  the  result  obtained,  by  the 
aid  of  the  diagram,  Fig.  11, — next  page. 

In  this  figure,  the  disc  described  by  the 
large  circle  represents  the  starry  sphere; 
all  the  stars  revolving  independently  (ex- 
cept as  they  attract  each  other)  in  slightly 
elliptical  orbits,  around  one  common  eccen- 
tric axis,  indicated  by  c, — the  earth-axis, 
represented  by  the  small  dark  circle,  lying 
a  little  outside  of  that  point,  while  the  dot- 
ted circle  represents  the  earth's  circumfer- 
ence. The  lines  radiating  from  the  earth- 
axis  extend  in  the  directions  of  what  we  will, 
for  convenience  in  illustrating,  call  the 
maximum  points  of  eastern  and  western 
parallax,  marked  E,  P.  and  W,  P.,  and  east- 
ern and  western  aberration — E.  A.  and  W. 
A,    The  small  dots  on,  and  at  the  termini  of 


238  Lectures. 

the  lines  running  from  c_,  represent  stars,  for 
observing  aberration  and  parallax. 

Now,  if  the  sun  Sy  and  the  stars  revolve 


Fig.  11. — ABERRATION  AND  PARALL-AX. 


in  the  direction  of  the  arrows  around  the 
earth,  the  stars  moving  enough  faster  than 
the  sun  to  gain  one  complete  revolution  on 


Lectures.  239 

it  in  a  year,  thus  giving  it  the  appearance 
of  moving  eastward  among  the  stars,  in  six 
months  the  star  a^,  for  example,  which  now 
appears  a  little  to  the  left,  or  easterly  from 
the  earth-perpendicular  line  n  (as  seen  from 
the  earth)  would  gain  a  half  revolution  on 
the  sun,  and  relatively  to  earth  and  sun,  ap- 
pear at  a'y  or  a  little  to  the  right,  or  west 
of  the  earth-perpendicular  line  71'^  thereby 
giving  us  a  parallax  of  that  star;  while  of 
the  star  h^  that  is  still  on  the  perpendicular 
line,  no  parallax  would  be  obtained ;  or  we 
would  say,  it  has  no  parallax. 

In  three  months'  time,  and  again  in  nine 
months  we  would  have  both  stars  on  the 
radial  lines  leading  from  earth-centre  to  E. 
A.  and  W,  A.^  respectively.  But  these  lines, 
though  touching  the  outer  circle  at  just  90'' 
from  the  lines  n^  n'^  are  not  like  them,  per- 
pendicular to  the  earth;  but  owing  to  the 
slight  eccentricity  of  the  centre  c,  of  stellar 
revolution,  and  of  the  earth,  they  are  a  little 
inclined,  so  that  we  get  an  eastern  aberra- 
tion of  both  stars  in  the  direction  of  E.  A. 


240  Lectures. 

and  a  western  aberration  of  the  same  in  the 
direction  of  W.  A. 

It  may,  however,  be  suggested  that  while 
such  a  plan  would  produce  those  apparent 
oscillating  movements  of  stars  in  the  eclip- 
tic, yet  it  would  not  produce  that  apparent 
circular  motion  of  those  stars  near  the  poles 
of  the  ecliptic. 

While  it  might  be  difficult  to  refute  such 
a  criticism  on  paper,  yet  I  have  anticipated 
it  by  so  constructing  the  physical  apparatus 
made  for  illustrating  this  plan,  (indicated 
by  D^  in  group  of  apparatus,  page  185, — 
from  which  the  diagram  in  Fig.  11  is  taken) 
that  a  star  can  be  moved  on  one  of  the 
radial  cords,  to  the  pole  of  the  ecliptic,  and 
a  small  circle  placed  over  it,  so  connected 
with  the  apparatus  as  to  move  concentric  to 
the  earth,  like  a  fixture  on  its  surface,  while 
the  star  moves  eccentric  to  it,  as  before; 
then  on  revolving  both  around  the  earth- 
axis,  the  star  is  seen  to  move  around  the 
small  circle;  while  at  intermediate  places 
it  will  describe  that  compromise  between  a 
circle  and  an  oscillation — an  ellipse;  there- 


Lectures.  241 

by  fully  demonstrating  that  those  apparent 
motions  of  the  stars  called  aberration, 
which  it  hasi  taken  such  an  abstruse  course 
of  reasoning  to  account  for  by  the  theory 
of  Copernicus,  might  be  produced  by  the 
natural  and  harmonious  operation  of  uni- 
versal and  direct  revolution,  in  another  sys- 
tem. 

KEPLER^S  SECOND  LAW. 

We  have  thus  far  only  been  examining 
some  of  the  chief  supports  of  the  system  of 
Copernicus.  Let  us  now  briefly  consider 
the  stability  of  that  fundamental  laAv  upon 
which  the  whole  structure  rests,  and  with- 
out Which  it  has  no  foundation. 

Successive  observations  having  satisfied 
astronomers  that  the  earth  ( on  the  Coperni- 
can  theory)  moves  slowest  in  its  orbit  round 
the  sun  when  farthest  from  the  centre  of 
force,  and  vice  versa,  and  that  order  of  its 
motion  being  in  opposition  to  the  familiar 
law  of  centrifugal  force  which  regulates  the 
movement  of  all  revolving  bodies,  it  became 
necessary  to  either  relinquish  the  theory  of 


242  Lectures. 

Copernicus,  or  discoyer  some  new  law  for 
its  justification. 

Out  of  this  dilemma  was  evolved  Kepler's 
second  law  of  planetary  motion — ^^Tihe  ra- 
dius vector  of  each  planet  describes  equal 
areas  in  equal  times :" — which  in  connection 
with  Newton's  law  of  gravitation,  would 
impart  perfect  equilibrium  to  a  revolving 
body  in  any  part  of  its  orbit,  however  near 
to,  or  remote  from  the  centre  of  force. 

Then,  as  the  natural  tendency  of  moving 
bodies,  when  all  lateral  forces  are  balanced, 
is  to  move  in  a  straight  line,  how  could  the 
orbital  motion  be  preserved,  or  the  integrity 
of  such  a  system  be  maintained? 

The  Copernican  school  soon  discovered 
this  discrepancy,  but  having  become  thor- 
oughly committed  to  the  theory,  they  soon 
set  to  fortifying  its  weak  point ;  and  with  a 
sagacity  which  challenges  our  admiration, 
inserted  what  they  are  pleased  to  call  the 
"Newtonian  constant;"  which  appears  su- 
perficially to  fill  the  breach;  though  what 
philosophical  relation  it  bears  to  either  the 
law  of  Kepler  or  of  Newton,  or  to  what  it 


Lectures.  243 

owes  its  existence,  except  t!iat  it  was  needed 
to  bolster  up  the  Copernican  theory,  I  have 
been  unable  to  determine. 

But  even  this  expedient,  though  theoret- 
ically available,  does  not  bear  the  test  of 
practical  demonstration,  as  is  shown  by  the 
experiment  I  will  now  describe : 

Believing  that  this  law  of  Kepler's  was 
unable  to  sustain  itself  by  a  true  mechanical 
demonstration,  I  designed  and  constructed 
an  apparatus  for  plainly  and  fairly  testing 
the  important  question. 

The  two  essential  features  in  a  device  of 
this  kind  would  naturally  be  a  method  of 
giving  a  revolving  body  that  unequal  motion 
in  its  eccentric  orbit,  Avhich  would  cause  its 
radius  vector  to  describe  "equal  areas  in 
equal  times,"  and  another  of  giving  it  a  ten- 
dency toward  the  centre  of  force,  inversely 
proportionate  to  the  square  of  the  distance 
from  the  centre. 

The  device  with  which  this  interesting 
experiment  was  made,  is  outlined  in  Fig.  12, 
and  also  appears  at  F,  in  group  of  appara- 
tus,  (page  185).     It  embodies,  in  addition 


244 


Lectures. 


to  the  features  named,  a  mode  of  bringing 
into  use  the  so-called  "Newtonian  constant/^ 
It  is  so  constructed  as  to  cause  the  revolving 
car,  or  planet  P^  to  describe  an  orbit,  rela- 
tively to  the  centre  of  force  (if  obedient  to 
the  law  of  Kepler)  which  would  be  the  exact 


Fig.  12. APPARATUS. 

copy  in  miniature  of  the  orbit  of  Mars,  rela- 
tively to  the  sun. 

In  the  figure,  B  represents  a  base,  from 
Which  rises  vertically  the  pivot  C  (in  dotted 
outline) .  Turning  freely  on  this  pivot,  is  a 
flanged  or  spool-shaped  eccentric  pulley  D, 
to  which  the  horizontal  arm  A  is  rigidly 
secured  which  carries  the  revolving  body  P. 
The  arm  A  is  set  in  motion  by  means  of  a 
cord  wound  around  the  eccentric  pulley  D 


Lectures.  245 

and  drawn  from  it  by  winding  on  the  other 
pulley  Hy  which  is  driven  by  some  steady 
power;  the  pulley  D  being  of  the  proper 
eccentricity  and  ellipticity  to  give  the  radius 
vector,  or  arm  A,  its  proper  motion  for  de- 
scribing equal  areas  in  equal  times  while  it 
is  being  so  driven. 

The  planet  P  is  in  the  form  of  a  car,  its 
wheels  having  perfect  anti-friction  bearings 
and  concave  rims,  running  on  a  pair  of  knife 
edge  rails  E.  The  car  body  is  fitted  with 
a  shot  receptacle,  by  which  its  weight  may 
be  varied.  It  is  drawn  centreward  by  the 
cord  li  winding  on  the  eccentric  pulley  W, 
to  Avhich  a  rotary  force  is  given  by  a  coiled 
spring  S;  the  pulley  W  being  regulated  by 
stops  to  turn  just  half  way  round;  one-half 
of  its  circumference  exactly  equaling  the 
difference  between  perihelion  and  aphelion, 
or  the  least  and  greatest  distances  of  the 
planet  P  from  the  centre. 

The  tension  of  the  coiled  spring  S^  and 
the  eccentricity  of  the  pulley  TF  are  so  ad- 
justed that  a  spring  w^eighing  scale  attached 
to  the  car  P,  and  draw  n  outward,  will  regis- 


246  Lectures, 

ter  a  centreward  attraction,  which  is  in- 
versely as  the  square  of  the  distance  from 
the  centre. 

While  the  arm  A  is  strictly  level,  yet  the 
rails  E  are  adjustable  for  grade,  and  when 
they  are  also  level,  the  car  P^  when  made 
to  revolve  around  the  pivot  C,  is  only  af- 
fected by  the  two  conditions^ — its  unequal 
propulsion  in  its  orbit,  and  the  centreward 
traction  of  the  cord  It.  But  by  slightly  ele- 
vating the  outer  end  of  the  rails  E,  we  also 
give  the  car  a  gravitjj  tendency  toward  the 
centre,  which  is  uniform  from  end  to  end  of 
the  rails.  This  supplies  what  is  called  the 
"Newtonian  constant;"  which  is  increased 
or  diminished,  as  the  rails  are  more  or  less 
inclined. 

I  made  many  careful  experiments  with 
this  apparatus,  both  with  the  rails  E  level, 
and  with  them  variously  inclined ;  but  they 
all  gave  practically  the  same  results — Avhen 
the  orbital  motion  of  P  was  just  sufficient 
to  start  it  from  the  perihelion  stop  p^  in  the 
fastest  portion  of  its  orbit,  it  Avould  roll  out 
toward  the  aphelion  stop  a^  but  return  to  p 


Lectures.  247 

again  on  or  before  reaching  the  slowest,  or 
the  aphelion  portion  of  its  orbit,  and  remain 
there  till  it  neared  the  fastest,  or  perihelion 
portion  of  its  orbit  again;  and  when  the 
orbital  motion  was  slightly  increased  to 
gain  better  results,  it  would  roll  out  to  a, 
and  remain  there ;  manifesting  a  disposition 
to  leave  the  system,  but  for  the  restraint  of 
the  cord  li  and  stop  a;  thus  clearly  dem- 
onstrating that  Kepler's  second  law  fur- 
nishes another  instance  in  which  theory  and 
practice  do  not  join  hands. 

The  fallacy  of  this  law  may,  however,  be 
illustrated  without  resort  to  the  mechanical 
experiment  which  we  have  described,  by  the 
use  of  the  diagram  {Fig.  13)  on  page  248. 

In  this  figure,  ^  rei)resents  the  sun,  or 
centre  of  force,  and  M  a  planet  at  the  peri- 
helion point  of  its  orbit,  revolving  around  ^ 
in  the  direction  of  the  arrows^ — its  radius 
vector  describing  equal  areas  in  equal  times. 

As  the  central  attraction  must  necessarily 
be  a  little  stronger  than  the  tangential 
tendency  of  a  revolving  body,  to  keep  it  in 
its  orbit,  we  will  (referring  to  the  diagram) 


248 


Lectures. 


let  10  represent  the  centrifugal  force  of  the 
planet  M^  gained  from  its  orbital  velocity, 
at  P;  and  11  the  combined  focal  attraction 

A, 


P 

Fig.  IS. — KEPLER^S  LAW. 

due  to  the  "Newtonian  constant"  and  the 
general  law  of  gravitation,  (assuming  tihe 
Newtonian  constant  to  be  1). 


Lectures.  249 

At  a,  with  the  velocity  of  the  planet  and 
the  focal  attraction  diminished,  let  9  repre- 
sent the  centrifugal,  and  9  plus  1,— or  10, 
the  centripetal  force  affecting  it;  at  h,  let 
8  and  9  represent  the  two  forces ;  at  c,  7 :  8, 
and  at  A,  6 :  7. 

The  planet  has,  at  A^  reached  its  lowest 
velocity,  and  from  this  point  on  toward  P 
again  (according  to  Kepler)  its  orbital  mo- 
tion, and  therefore  the  centrifugal  force  will 
gradually  increase,  and  the  centripetal  force 
also  reassert  itself. 

From  P  to  A,  the  influence  of  the  two 
opposite  forces  on  the  planet  was  steadily 
diminishing;  but  through  the  assistance  of 
the  Newtonian  constant,  that  of  the  centrip- 
etal force  weakened  less  than  the  other — as 
7 :  6  exceeds  11 :  10 ;  yet  with  this  advantage 
it  has  only  in  part  been  able  to  restrain  the 
planet  from  flying  off  in  a  tangent,  since  its 
radius  vector  has  steadily  lengthened. 

But  from  A  to  P  again,  the  conditions 
are  reversed;  the  centrifugal  force  steadily 
increasing,  while  the  centripetal  force  will 
increase  in  a  smaller  ratio  (falling  from  7 :  6 


250  Lectures. 

at  A,  to  11 :  10  at  P) .  How  then  could  the 
latter,  with  its  power,  relatively  to  the  cen- 
trifugal force,  tveakening ,  draw  the  planet 
back  to  perihelion,  or  shorten  its  radius 
vector,  when  it  was  unable  to  restrain  the 
same  from  lengthening ,  on  its  way  from  P 
to  Ay  where  the  conditions  were  reversed, 
wholly  to  its  advantage? 

The  truth  of  the  matter  is,  that  at  P  the 
centripetal  force  is  not  sufficiently  strong, 
relatively  to  the  centrifugal,  to  keep  the 
radius  vector  of  the  planet  from  lengthen- 
ing; but  by  the  aid  of  the  Newtonian  con- 
stant it  becomes  so  at  A,  from  which  point, 
if  the  orbital  motion  continue  the  same  as 
at  A — no  greater,  no  less — the  planet  will 
continue  in  a  circle,  without  any  change  in 
its  radius  vector;  but  if  the  orbital  motion 
be  increased  at  A^  then  the  centrifugal  force 
will  also  increase,  and  carry  the  planet  still 
farther  from  the  centre;  since  the  focal  at- 
traction on  the  planet  can  only  be  increased 
— hy  first  hrmging  it  tiearer  to  the  centre  of 
force. 


Lectures.  251 


A  NEW  SYSTEM  OUTLINED. 

Though  I  have  been  freely  criticising  our 
present  accepted  astronomical  system,  yet 
it  is  neither  my  purpose  nor  desire  to  advo- 
cate a  ncAv  one ;  as  I  am  far  from  being  fully 
assured  that  it  is  the  Divine  pleasure  to  re- 
veal to  our  finite  minds,  except  in  a  general 
Avay,  the  great  plan  of  the  Universe.  But 
lest  it  should  be  said  of  me — He  seeks  only 
to  demolish  and  destroy  where  he  could  not 
plan  to  build, — I  will  suggest  the  outline  of 
a  plan  by  which  the  apparent  movements  of 
the  heavenly  bodies  might  all  be  produced, 
not  only  in  harmony  with  natural  laws,  but 
also  Avith  the  revealed  Word  of  God. 

In  such  a  plan,  I  would  have  the  earth 
practically  at  the  centre,  as  indicated  by  E 
in  Pig.  IJ^,  rotating  on  its  axis  (from  w  to  e) 
in  25  hours  49  min.  10  sec. ;  the  moon  M  re- 
volving around  the  earth  in  the  opposite 
direction  to  the  earth's  rotation,  (or  from 
E  to  w)  in  her  sidereal  period  of  27.32  days ; 
the  sun  8  going  around  the  earth  in  the  same 


252 


Lectures. 


direction  as  the  moon,  in  14.19  days;  mov- 
ing spirally  from  solstice  to  solstice  and  re- 
turn, with  its  circuits  a  little  broader  over 


Fig.   1-h' — A  NEW  SYSTEM. 

the  northern,  than  they  are  over  the  south- 
ern hemisphere,  for  aphelion  and  perihelion, 
as  shown  in  Fig.  8,  page  224. 


Lectures. 


253 


I  would  have  Mercury  niy  and  Venus  V, 
revolve  round  the  sun,  as  shown,  and  travel 
with  it,  as  satellites  of  that  body,  in  its  cir- 
cuits round  the  earth ;  the  superior  planets, 
as  is  shown  by  their  orbits,  moving  slowly 
(from  E  to  w)  around  the  sun  as  a  second- 
ary centre  in  their  synodical  periods,  while 
traveling  round  the  earth  with  the  sun,  and 
like  that  body,  moving  spirally  from  north 
to  south  and  return,  in  their  sidereal  peri- 
ods; the  stars  revolving  around  the  whole 
in  orbits  a  little  eccentric  to  the  earth  axis, 
in  the  same  direction  as  the  sun,  but  enough 
faster  to  gain  one  revolution  on  the  sun  in  a 
year ;  which  would  be  a  complete  revolution 
in  13.66  days. 

This  would  produce  the  apparent  move- 
ments of  the  celestial  bodies  in  their  proper 
order  and  periods,  and  account  for  aberra- 
tion, equation  of  time,  and  that  apparent 
equatorial  acceleration  of  the  sun,  in  the 
manner  already  explained ;  but  how  would 
I  reconcile  such  a  plan  with  the  established 
law  of  gravitation? 

I  would  reply — Not  by  seeking  to  change 


254  Lectures. 

that  law,  so  far  as  *t  pertains  to  things  ter- 
restrial, (of  which  portion  only  we  are  able 
to  take  practical  account)  but  by  amplify- 
ing and  extending  the  demonstrable  portion 
of  that  law,  to  embrace  the  universe. 

UNIVERSAL  GRAVITATION. 

Kespecting  the  application  of  this  law  of 
gravity  to  our  habitable  globe,  we  have  been 
taught  that  those  portions  of  the  earth  the 
nearest  to  its  centre,  are  the  least  attracted 
centreward,  while  the  attraction  increases 
directly  with  the  distance  from  the  centre, 
being  therefore  theoretically  greatest  at  the 
earth's  surface. 

Now,  is  this  the  result  of  Cohesion,  or  is 
the  law  of  gravity,  in  this  case,  modified  by 
that  force?  Presumably  not,  since  we  are 
taught  that  cohesion  acts  only  at  insensible 
distances.  If  then,  it  is  the  result  of  gravi- 
tation, pure  and  simple,  would  not  the  order 
of  attraction  be  the  same,  if  the  earth  were 
divided  into  millions  of  small  bodies — separ 
rated  by  space,  but  collectively  retaining 


Lectures.  255 

the  globular  form?  And  may  not  the  mil- 
lions of  visible  bodies,  together  with  that 
boundless  infinity  of  invisible  ones  which 
constitute  our  universe, — though  separated 
by  space,  yet  united  by  the  strong  bonds  of 
their  mutual  attractions — be  drawn  in  the 
same  order  toward  a  common  centre,  yet 
retained  in  their  places  by  the  centrifugal 
force  evolved  by  their  orbital  velocitieB? — 
The  moon  (nearest  the  centre  of  the  system) 
revolving  slowest,  being  the  least  attracted ; 
while  velocity  and  attraction  increase  steadi- 
ly as  they  move  out  from  the  centre, — the 
stars  revolving  most  rapidly,  being  most 
attracted ;  those  of  the  polar  divisions  being 
retained  in  their  places  by  magnetic  polar 
repulsions. 

This  would  be  in  perfect  harmony  with 
that  natural,  familiar,  and  easily  demon- 
strated law  of  centrifugal  force,  that  the 
orbit  of  a  revolving  body  is  expanded  by  in- 
creasing its  velocity,  and  contracted  by  de- 
creasing it.  It  is  also  evident  that  the  far- 
ther a  body  gyrated  from  the  centre,  the 
more  it  would  be  restrained  :*rom  leaving 


256  Lectures. 

such  a  system,  and  the  nearer  one  drew  to 
the  centre,  the  less  it  would  be  attracted 
toward  it,  both  of  these  conditions  operating 
against  a  change  in  the  original  distribution 
of  bodies  throughout  the  universe,  while  the 
failure  of  Kepler's  second  law  to  sustain  it- 
self in  a  fair  and  carefully  conducted  physi- 
cal test,  demonstrates  that  directly  opposite 
and  disorganizing  conditions  exist  in  the 
theory  of  Copernicus. 

But  it  may  be  argued  that  a  planet  like 
Jupiter  or  Saturn,  for  example,  with  its  sat- 
ellites revolving  around  it,  in  direction  from 
w  to  E,  those  with  largest  orbits  revolving 
slowest,  is  a  visible  presentation  and  justi- 
fication of  that  theory,  and  discloses  God's 
plan  of  operating  world  systems. 

To  such  an  argument  I  would  reply,  that 
the  satellites  of  a  planet,  in  the  Copernican 
plan,  or  in  the  one  I  have  suggested,  have 
two  motions — their  lesser,  or  secondary  rev- 
olution round  the  planet,  and  their  greater, 
or  primary  revolution  tvith  the  planet  round 
the  centre  of  the  system.  Now,  in  the  plan 
outlined  in  Fig,  H,  those  planets  revolve 


Lectures.  257 

absolutely  round  the  earth,  and  also  around 
the  sun,  from  E  to  w;  and  their  satellites, 
in  revolving  round  them  from  w  to  E,  would 
be  affected  by  that  more  rapid  primary  mo- 
tion round  the  earth,  as  follows : 

Those  satellites  revolving  farthest  from 
their  planets,  or  having  the  largest  orbits, 
would,  in  keeping  with  my  theory,  have  the 
slowest  primary  motion  around  the  earth, 
when  nearest  to  earth,  and  the  most  rapid 
when  in  the  opposite,  or  most  distant  part 
of  their  secondary  orbits  around  the  planet ; 
and  the  secondary  motion  of  the  satellite — 
from  w  to  E  around  the  planet — would  be 
in  the  same  direction  as  the  primary  motion 
when  it  is  nearest  to  earth  and  moving  the 
slowest  around  it,  which  tends  to  retard  its 
secondary  progress,  and  therefore  prolong 
its  period ;  and  this  secondary  motion  would 
again  be  retarded  on  the  opposite,  or  farther 
side  of  the  planet,  as  it  would  there  be  coun- 
teracted by  the  increased  primary  motion, 
which  it  would  then  be  moving  against ;  this 
would  still  further  prolong  its  period.  It  is 
evident  that  on  this  principle,  the  nearer  a 


258  Lectures. 

satellite  revolved  to  its  planet  the  less  those 
retardations  would  be,  and  in  consequence, 
the  shorter  its  period. 

This  would  account  for  the  perplexingly 
short  period  of  Phobos, — inner  satellite  of 
Mars;  and  might  also  throw  some  light  on 
the  eccentric  behavior  of  the  satellites  of 
Uranus  and  Neptune. 

But  wherein  exists  the  chief  difference 
between  the  two  theories  which  promise  the 
same  apparent  results?  Manifestly  in  this: 
Instead  of  esteeming  our  universe  as  being 
at  rest,  except  as  a  few  bodies  of  the  Solar 
system  move  in  their  orbits,  and  the  stars, 
by  their  scarcely  perceptible  so-called  prop- 
er motions,  move  chaotically,  "like  bees  in  a 
swarm,''  as  the  Copernican  text-books  ex- 
press it,  I  would  ascribe  to  it,  as  a  universal 
whole,  the  action  of  rotation — as  in  action 
only  there  is  life — the  stars  in  their  respec- 
tive orbits  differing  sufficiently  in  motion 
to  produce  their  apparent  "proper  motions," 
while  the  lesser  velocities  of  sun,  moon,  and 
planets,  give  those  bodies  the  appearance  of 
traveling  eastward  among  the  stars. 


Lectures,  259 

The  plan  I  have  suggested  would  also 
correct  that  glaring  inconsistency  of  the  Co- 
pernican  theory  which  would  give  to  those 
planets  observed  to  have  the  slo^^^est  rota- 
tion, the  most  rapid  motion  in  their  orbits : 
For  example,  Mars  is  observed  to  take  24 
hours  37  minutes,  in  turning  on  its  axis,  but 
is  given  an  orbital  velocity  of  about  15  miles 
per  second ;  while  Jupiter  rotates  in  a  little 
more  than  one- third  of  that  time,  (9  hours 
55  minutes)  yet  is  given  an  orbital  motion 
of  less  than  8  miles  per  second.  This  great- 
er rotary  motion  would,  however,  harmonize 
perfectly  with  the  increased  orbital  velocity 
of  bodies  farther  from  the  universal  centre, 
in  the  plan  outlined. 

Of  most  importance,  however,  is  the  con- 
sideration that  such  a  plan,  by  puncturing 
the  root,  might  tend  to  check  the  growth  of 
that  false  sentiment  which  would  aiTogate 
to  modern  man  the  superior  wisdom,  ability 
and  privilege  of  supplanting  the  records  of 
Divine  revelation  with  the  records  of  human 
achievement,  and  set  at  naught  the  inspired 
words  of  those  devout  men  who  in  the  purity 


26o  Lectures. 

and  simplicity  of  an  exalted  faith — througli 
Nature's  works,  communed  with  Nature's 
God;  nor  deemed  it  necessary  to  attempt 
the  elabm^ation  of  an  astronomical  system 
whose  well  defined  outlines  no  sacrilegious 
hand  might  e'er  disturb. 

But  as  I  have  said,  I  have  no  intention  of 
advocating  a  different  system,  either  new  or 
old ;  for  in  the  light  of  the  discoveries  I  have 
made,  and  deductions  I  have  drawn — ^and 
by  the  memory  of  an  early  experience,  when 
a  Voice  Beatific  spake  Peace !  from  out  the 
shadows,  I  have  been  led  up  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  it  is  unsafe  to  advocate  any  theory, 
or  formulate  any  system  of  human  knowl- 
edge which  is  not  found,  after  the  fullest 
and  fairest  investigation,  to  be  in  perfect 
harmony  with  both  God's  Word  and  works ; 
and  while  memory  lives,  and  reason  retains 
its  throne,  the  recollection  of  that  early  ex- 
perience when  the  mind's  eye  was  quickened 
into  gazing  retrospectively  through  God's 
Word,  as  along  a  panorama,  from  Patmos 
even  back  to  Chaos,  to  see  all  alleged  incon- 
sistencies vanish,  all  apparent  differences 


Lectures.  261 

reconciled,  and  the  Star  of  Truth  shining 
resplendent  over  all, — that  recollection  will 
prompt  me  to  maintain  that  where  Science 
and  the  Bible  clash,  there  Science  must  give 
way;  and  though  Man,  with  his  God-given 
powers  has  achieved  wonders,  and  is  still 
progressing,  yet  we  should  ever  remember 
that,  as  in  the  material  world  the  stream 
cannot  rise  above  its  source,  so  in  the  grand- 
er realm  of  thought,  human  knowledge  can- 
not, and  must  not  assume  to  rise  above  the 
Source  of  all  knowledge. 

And  while  to  man  much  to  know  is  given, 
yet  as  God's  thoughts  are  not  our  thoughts, 
neither  our  ways  his  ways; — for  as  the 
heavens  are  higher  than  the  earth,  so  God's 
ways  being  higher  than  our  ways,  and  his 
thougihts  than  our  thoughts,  there  must  of 
necessity  be  some  knowledge  which  is  pecul- 
iarly and  exclusively  his;  and  to  which  we 
may  not  hope  to  attain,  till  that  time  when 
standing  in  the  light  of  his  presence,  we 
shall  be  more  like  him,  for  we  shall  see  him 
as  he  is.  And  I  feel  that  I  can  offer  no  more 
fitting  conclusion  to  this  discourse  than  that 


262  Lectures. 

impressive  stanza  from  Derzhaven's  Ode  to 
the  Deity,  wMch  thus  beautifully  embodies 
this  sentiment: 

^^In  its  sublime  research,  Philosophy 
May  measure  out  the   ocean   deep,  may 

count 
The  sands,  or  solar  rays;  hut  God,  for  thee 
There  is  no  loeight  nor  measure!  none  can 

mount 
Up  to  Thy  mysteries!    Reason's  brightest 

spark, 
Tho'  kindled  hy  Thy  light,  would  vainly 

try 
To  trace  Thy  counsels,  infinite  and  dark; 
'And  thought  is  lost  ere  it  can  soar  so  high. 
Even  like  past  moments  in  Eternity !'' 


CHAPTER  IX. 

While  preparing  the  foregoing  lectures, 
the  impression  gained  with  me  that  a  work 
in  defense  of  the  Bible  would  be  imperfect 
and  unfinished,  which  did  not  also  make  a 
practical  application  of  its  teachings  to  the 
needs  of  mankind ;  and  when  I  went  forth  to 
give  the  results  of  my  labors  to  the  world 
from  the  lecture  platform,  I  took  with  me 
the  following  discourse,  hoping  my  scientific 
lectures  might  receive  that  financial  sup- 
port which  would  enable  me  to  present  it 
from  the  same  platform,  without  fee  or  col- 
lection, or  desire  for  any  personal  advan- 
tage. 

I  hoped  in  this  way  to  reach  many  people 
who  would  come  to  a  public  hall,  but  could 
not  be  induced  to  enter  either  a  fashionable 
church,  or  a  charity  chapel.  The  results  of 
my  efforts  are  already  known  to  the  reader. 
— The  lecture  follows : — 


264  Lectures. 

{Free  Lecture.) 
How  THE  Poor  may  become  Rich. 

In  these  days  of  cultured  skepticism 
when  Infidelity  proclaims  its  tenets  in  our 
public  halls,  and  is  applauded  to  the  ec^ho 
for  its  bold  attacks  on  our  Christian  faith, 
it  behooves  us  who  are  followers  of  the 
Master,  each  to  do  what  he  or  she  can,  to 
stem  that  tidal  wave  whose  dark  wake  is 
strewn  with  physical,  mental,  moral  and 
spiritual  suicide  and  death. 

It  may,  however,  appear  highly  presump- 
tuous for  a  plain  workingman  to  announce  a 
lecture  in  this  wealthy  and  prosperous  city, 
whose  object  is  to  benefit  the  poor;  but  I 
am  credible  advised  that  there  is  one  poor 
man  like  myself  residing  somewhere  in  this 
town,  and  I  appear  in  the  interest  of  that 
man, — I  have  given  him  a  special  invitation 
to  be  present,  and  I  think  he  is  with  us  on 
this  occasion. 

I  trust,  therefore,  you  will  pardon  me  if  I 
keep  my  promise  with  him,  by  pointing  out 


Lectures.  265 

the  way  by  which  he  may  also  become  rich. 
I  feel  the  more  constrained  to  pursue  this 
course,  because  in  the  house  of  the  Master  I 
am  so  poorly  serving,  there  is  more  joy  over 
one  poor  man  who  becomes  rich,  than  there 
is  over  ninety  and  nine  other  men,  who  are 
already  rich  enough. 

While  I  am  indicating  the  way  by  which 
he  may  gain  a  clear  title  and  a  lasting  ten- 
ure of  a  beautiful  mansion  in  a  delightful 
country,  I  shall  also  be  answering,  definite- 
ly and  unequivocally,  that  question  of  vital 
import  which  Col.  Robt.  Ingersoll  has  been 
asking  all  up  and  down  the  land,  for  two 
hundred  dollars,  and  upward,  a  night ;  while 
his  vague  and  futile  efforts  at  answering 
the  same  himself,  have  received  that  gener- 
ous applause  which  usually  crowns  a  tri- 
umphant success. 

[Note.] — Reference  is  made  to  IngersolFs 
lecture,  '^What  must  we  do  to  be  saved."  He 
was  living  then,  and  I  expected  to  meet 
him,  and  answer  his  question. 

As  this  answer  concerns  us  all,  I  hope  to 
retain  your  attention  while  I  unfold  to  my 


266  Lectures. 

fellow  workingman  the  grandeur  of  the  in- 
heritance which  may  be  his;  and  that  its 
beauty  and  desirableness  may  be  enhanced 
by  contrast,  let  us  first,  my  friend,  briefly 
sur^^ey  your  past  life,  present  condition, 
and  your  present  hope  of  the  future : 

You  started  out  in  life's  fair  morning, 
with  the  hope  and  health  and  strength  of 
youth.  How  beautiful  the  world  looked,  and 
how  easy  seemed  the  battle  of  life.  Kind 
friends  greeted  you  everywhere;  encourag- 
ing words  and  smiles  cheered  your  walk  by 
day,  and  sweet  sleep  with  pleasant  dreams, 
renewed  your  strength  by  night. 

How  your  young  heart  beat  with  lofty 
aspirations — you  would  mount  the  ladder  of 
Fame,  and  would  stand  up  in  noble  defense 
of  the  rights  of  your  people  and  your  coun- 
try; or  you  would  gather  liberally  of  the 
wealth  which  lay  at  your  feet,  and  bestow 
it  on  the  less  fortunate  with  that  bounteous 
hand  which  would  cause  men  to  bless  your 
life,  and  cherish  your  memory.  Your  strong 
right  hand,  unclouded  brain,  and  evenly  pul- 
sating heart — appeared  to  you,  to  hold  the 


Lectures.  267 

key  to  your  destiny,  and  if  you  failed — the 
fault  would  be  your  own. 

Time  sped,  and  the  conflict  deepened. 
Life's  poetry  was  merging  into  prose — its 
idealism  into  stern  reality.  With  clenched 
hand  and  flashing  eye  and  girded  purpose, 
you  met  the  condition,  and  struggled  nobly 
for  the  mastery.  The  tide  of  fortune  ebbeil 
and  flowed,  while  time  moved  on  with  relent- 
less tread. 

At  length  misfortune  came — a  trusted 
friend  proved  false,  a  business  enterprise 
unsound; — anxious  days,  sleepless  nights, 
sickness  followed;  and  when  you  rose  from 
that  couch  of  pain,  the  world  for  you  had 
lost  much  of  its  freshness,  and  your  heart 
much  of  its  hopefulness ;  but  the  thought  of 
loved  ones  dependent  on  you  called  you 
again  to  the  post  of  duty,  and  with  strength 
impaired,  and  hopes  modified  by  defeat,  you 
entered  once  more  life's  great  struggle. 

Brighter  days  came,  and  hope  revived: 
but  alas!  how  fleeting.  One  morning  a 
cheery  voice  which  had  made  music  in  your 
home,  was  stifled  by  throes  of  pain.    A  few 


268  Lectures. 

days  of  suffering — of  mortal  agony,  and  the 
pure  spirit  was  wafted  upward,  while  the 
beautiful  form  was  laid  from  your  sight,  be- 
neath the  cold  clods  of  the  valley,  and  your 
hand  was  again  unnerved  for  the  conflict. 

Thus  on  and  on,  the  tide  of  your  affairs 
has  ebbed  and  flowed, — each  successive  cir- 
cle narrowing  a  little,  till  you  have  been 
brought  down  to  the  hard  lot  of  unremitting 
toil  for  your  daily  bread;  hoping  for  noth- 
ing now,  but  that  the  work  may  hold  out, 
and  the  frugal  pay  continue,  that  you  may 
keep  the  hungry  wolf  from  the  door. 

Meanwhile  time  goes  on.  The  form  is 
less  erect,  the  step  shorter,  the  hand  lees 
steady;  while  the  eye  is  growing  dim,  and 
tell-tale  locks  of  silver  lead  your  thrifty  em- 
ployer to  ponder  if  your  place  could  not  soon 
be  better  filled  by  younger  help. 

And  what  then?  A  place  by  your  chil- 
dren's fireside?  Perhaps  a  nook  in  the  home 
for  the  stranger.  A  few  months  or  years  of 
weary  waiting, — then  a  simple  burial  serv- 
ice, a  narrow  grave, — and  all  that  is  mortal 
of  your  once  happy  self,  will  be  hid  from 


Lectures.  269 

earth,  forever!     And  is  this  tlhe  end?     Is 
this  the  end? 

O,  no!  O,  no!  Look  up!  look  up!  "Be- 
hold I  bring  you  good  tidings  of  great  joy, 
which  shall  be  to  all  people !  For  unto  you 
is  born  in  the  city  of  David,  a  Savior,  who  is 
Christ  the  Lord!"  And  what  message 
brings  this  Savior  to  you? 

"Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit,  for  theirs 
is  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven. 

"Blessed  are  they  that  mourn,  for  they 
shall  be  comforted. 

"Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  for  they 
shall  see  God. 

"In  my  Father^s  house  are  many  man- 
sions: if  it  were  not  so  I  would  have  told 
you.    I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you." 

But  methinks  I  hear  this  toiler  say.  What 
is  all  this  to  me?  Have  I  not  lived  to  see 
Vice  prosper,  and  Virtue  go  threadbare — to 
see  the  wicked  and  unscrupulous  rolling  in 
wealth  and  luxury  and  ease,  while  the  hon- 
est and  deserving  and  the  God-fearing  were 
ground  beneath  the  iron  heel  of  Poverty? 


270  Lectures. 

This  has  led  me  to  doubt  God's  direct 
interference  in  the  affairs  of  men,  and  to  at- 
tribute all  results  to  that  unrelenting  law 
whose  operations  culminate  in  the  survival, 
' — not  exactly  of  the  fittest,  but  of  the  strong- 
est and  most  crafty. 

Believing  that  as  the  bonds  of  the  toiling 
millions  are  tightening,  this  sentiment  is 
also  growing,  you  will  pardon  me  if  I  begin 
at  the  root  of  this  subject : 

In  the  first  place,  reason  and  observation 
and  experience;,  all  teach  us  that  nothing 
exists  or  takes  place  without  a  cause;  and 
the  existence  of  a  Great  First  Cause,  I 
think  no  sensible  person  will  attempt  to 
deny:  and  whether,  in  the  language  of  the 
freethinker,  we  choose  to  call  that  Cause — 
Nature,  or  whether,  in  the  language  of  the 
Scriptures,  we  say — God!  does  not  in  the 
least  affect  his  personality;  but  what  most 
directly  concerns  us  is.  What  relation  exists 
between  us  and  that  Great  Cause,  and  how 
are  we  affected  by  such  relation? 

In  the  vegetable  and  in  the  animal  king- 


Lectures.  271 

doms,  everything  does  indeed  appear  to  be 
governed  by  some  general  and  immutable 
law.  The  tender  shoot  springs  from  the 
seed,  takes  root,  develops  into  the  tree,  puts 
forth  its  leaves,  flowers  and  fruit;  and  the 
eagle  builds  his  nest,  and  the  Tvald  beast  his 
lair,  the  same  as  centuries  on  centuries  ago ; 
no  progTess,  no  improvement. 

But  with  man  all  this  is  changed.  Born 
into  the  world  the  most  helpless  of  all  crea- 
tures, he  matures  into  a  being  endowed  with 
those  higher  attributes  of  inventive  and  cre- 
ative power  which  so  emphatically  distin- 
guish him  from  all  else  created;  and  which 
under  favoring  conditions  rise  to  a  grandeur 
of  achievement,  bearing  unmistakably  the 
imprint  of  divine  preferment. 

Is  it  strange  then,  that  this  distinctive 
and  superior  being  should  have  been  made 
the  recipient  of  God's  special  consideration 
and  care?  But  the  question  may  be  raised, 
Why  then  did  he  leave  man  free  to  fall  into 
temptation  and  sin,  whereby  came  death, 
and  all  our  woes?    I  will  try  to  answer  that 


2  72 


Lectures. 


anticipated  question  by  the  use  of  a  homely, 
though  I  think,  pertinent  illustration: 

We  will  suppose  you  have  a  beautiful 
horse — far  more  beautiful  and  intelligent 
than  any  you  have  ever  before  possessed  or 
cared  for;  so  intelligent,  in  fact,  that  you 
decide  on  giving  him  a  few  extra  points  in 
horse  culture.  You  attach  a  long  cord  to 
his  bridle  and  start  him  toward  the  street, 
saying.  Now,  sir !  when  I  call  Halt !  you  are 
to  stop.  And  when  I  say.  Return !  then  you 
must  turn,  and  come  back  to  me. 

When  the  horse  reaches  the  street,  you 
draw  firmly  on  the  cord,  call  Halt! — and 
the  horse  stops,  because  he  does  not  feel  at 
liberty  to  do  any  other  way.  You  say,  Re- 
turn !  and  begin  to  reel  in  the  cord  hand  over 
hand,  and  he  comes  back  to  you,  for  the  same 
reason.  You  repeat  the  lesson  several  times 
— always  with  the  same  result,  of  course. 

Well,  now,  you  are  not  very  much  elated 
over  that  animaPs  behavior, — he  has  only 
done  for  you  what  you  compelled  him  to  do ; 
but  finally  you  strip  off  the  bridle,  and  send 
him  out  free.    As  he  again  nears  the  street, 


Lectures.  273 

you  call,  Halt!  and  (anxious  moment)  the 
horse  stoj^s!  You  say,  Return!  and  pirou- 
etting gracefully,  he  hastens  back  to  you. 
O,  how  the  glad  smiles  illumine  your  coun- 
tenance, and  how  heartily  you  caress  that 
noble  animal,  who  has  honored  you  by  his 
obedience,  though  free  to  transgress. 

The  inspired  poet,  Milton,  expresses  this 
sentiment  in  loftier  phrase  in  his  "Paradise 
Lost,''  where  he  assumes  God  to  say : 

"I  made  him  (man)  just  and  right, 
Sufficient  to  have  stood,  though  free  to  fall. 
Such  I  created  all  the  ethereal  Powers 
And  Spirits,  both  them  who  stood,  and  them 

who  failed; 
Freely  they  stood  who  stood,  or  freely  fell. 
Not  free,  what  proof  could  they  have  given 
Of  true  allegiance,  constant  faith,  or  love. 
Where  only  that  they  needs  must  do  ap- 
peared, 
Not  what  they  would?    What  praise  could 

they  receive. 
What  pleasure  I,  from  such  obedience  paid ; 


274  Lectures. 

When    will    and    reason    (reason    also    is 

choice) 
Useless  and  vain,  of  freedom  both  despoiled, 
Made  passive  both,  had  served  necessity, 
Not  Mer'  Milton. 

Thus  the  poet  very  reasonably  raises  the 
question,  What  satisfaction,  what  recom- 
pense would  it  have  been  to  God,  to  endow 
man  with  these  higher  attributes,  and  tlieai 
place  him  in  leading-strings,  by  which  he 
would  be  compelled  to  serve  Him;  instead 
of  leaving  him  free,  that  he  might  honor  and 
glorify  God,  by  serving  Him  of  his  own  voli- 
tion? "For  verily  I  say  unto  you,  that  joy 
shall  be  in  Heaven  over  one  sinner  that  re- 
penteth,  (or  comes  back  to  God  of  his  own 
free  will,)  more  than  over  ninety  and  nine 
just  persons  who  need  no  repentance." 

With  this  brief  argument  in  support  of 
the  doctrine  of  man's  free  moral  agency  and 
consequent  fall,  we  will  now  proceed  to  con- 
sider the  reasonable  requirements  and  the 
efficacy  of  the  Gospel  plan  of  redemption  : 

The  Scriptures  inform  us  that  as  men 


Lectures.  275 

multiplied  on  the  face  of  tlie  earth,  through 
an  evil  influence  they  became  disobedient  to 
the  extent  that  God  repented  of  ever  having 
created  man,  and  that  he  determined  to  cut 
off  the  whole  human  race;  but  finding  one 
righteous  family,  he  mercifully  spared  them 
from  the  angry  Flood,  and  when  the  waters 
abated,  Noah  and  his  family  went  out  from 
the  Ark,  to  re-establish  man's  dominion  on 
the  earth. 

It  would  seem  that  the  descendants  of 
such  goodly  stock,  which  had  been  so  mirac- 
ulously saved  from  the  general  ruin,  ought 
to  have  been  able  to  walk  in  the  paths  of 
rectitude  and  holiness ;  but  it  appears,  how- 
ever, that  as  their  numbers  again  increased, 
many  wandered  from  their  allegiance  and 
became  as  heathen  and  outcast  to  the  Lord^ 
while  the  descendants  of  faithful  Abraham 
became  his  chosen  people. 

Of  the  wanderings  of  this  chosen  race 
and  God's  dealings  with  them,  it  is  not  our 
purpose  now  to  speak,  more  than  to  remind 
you  that  throughout  the  whole  record  there 
runs  a  sentiment  indicating  that  God  had 


276  Lectures. 

not  forgotten  the  remnant  of  mankind,  and 
that  he  would  in  his  own  good  time  declare 
a  general  amnesty  to  all  the  human  race,  as 
is  evinced  by  the  frequent  references  which 
his  prophets  make  to  a  Messiah,  who  when 
He  came,  would  deliver  those  in  bondage. 

And  how  nearly  are  the  ways  of  our  wis- 
est and  best  men  fashioned  after  this  course. 
Many  will  recollect  that  at  the  close  of  our 
Civil  War  (18G1-65)  only  a  portion  of  those 
who  had  borne  arms  against  the  Govern- 
ment were  pardoned,  while  the  instigators, 
leaders,  and  worst  offenders  were  denied 
the  rights  of  citizenship. 

But  as  time  passed,  and  passions  cooled, 
and  wounds  healed,  our  statesmen  relented, 
and  it  was  resolved  to  send  out  a  general 
amnesty  proclamation ;  that  whoever  would 
might  come  and  take  the  oath  of  allegiance 
and  receive  pardon. 

And  now,  in  what  form  and  after  what 
manner  came  the  bearer  of  that  other  and 
earlier  proclamation  from  On  High?  Not 
as  the  JcAvs  expected  He  would  come — with 
pomp  and  power;  which  have  everywhere 


Lectures.  277 

and  in  all  ages  been  the  accompaniments  of 
wrong  and  oppression ;  but  he  came  just  as 
God's  prophets  foretold,  centuries  before, 
that  he  would  come;— as  a  man  of  sorrows, 
and  acquainted  with  grief;  as  the  Lamb  of 
God  to  be  offered  for  our  transgressions ;  as 
the  meek  and  lowly  Jesus, — with  passions 
ihuman  enough  and  sensibilities  keen  enough 
and  sympathies  deep  enough, — and  power 
great  enough,  to  understand  and  pity  and 
forgive  all  our  sins — if  we  wish  to  be,  and 
will  seek  to  be  forgiven. 

But  what  are  the  proofs  of  his  divinity? 
When  he  came  up  from  his  baptism  in  the 
River  Jordan,  Behold !  the  heavens  parted, 
and  the  Spirit  of  God  was  seen  descending 
upon  him  like  a  dove;  and  Lo!  a  voice  from 
Heaven  was  heard  saying,  ^'This  is  my  be- 
loved Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased !" 

At  his  command  the  lame  walk,  the  blind 
receive  their  sight,  the  lepers  are  healed,  the 
dead  are  raised!  He  calms  the  wild  waves, 
and  walks  upon  the  sea :  later  he  bursts  the 
bars  of  the  tomb,  and  is  seen  by  competent 
witnesses  ascending  bodily  up  to  Heaven. 


278  Lectures. 

And  we  who  have  been  touched  by  his  heah 
ing  power — we  knoiv  that  he  was  Messiah 
who  was  to  come.  And  this  was  his  procla- 
mation to  mankind : 

"For  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave 
his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  be- 
lieveth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life.''    ^Sf^.  John^  3: 16. 

"I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life:  he 
that  believeth  in  me,  though  he  were  dead, 
yet  shall  he  live;  and  whosoever  liveth  and 
believeth  in  me,  shall  never  die/'  John, 
11:25,26. 

"I  am  the  way  and  the  truth  and  the  life : 
no  man  cometh  unto  the  Father,  but  by  me." 
m.  John,  U:6. 

Since  on  the  promises  contained  in  this 
message  hangs  our  only  hope  of  Heaven,  let 
us  give  it  a  calm  and  dispassionate  consid- 
eration, to  see  if  that  hope  is  well  founded : 

First,  the  proclamation  is  not  made  to 
any  particular  race,  creed,  or  class;  but  to 
all  mankind ;  for  it  distinctly,  emphatically, 
and  repeatedly  uses  the  word.  Whosoever; 
which  in  our  language  means  anybody.    But 


Lectures.  279 

why  does  it  not  say  everybody?  Because,  my 
friend,  there  is  one  condition  embodied  in  it ; 
— not  the  taking  of  an  oath  of  allegiance,  as 
in  man's  proclamation,  but  simple  belief  in 
the  Savior — ^'Whosoever  believeth  in  him 
shall  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life." 

But  you  may  say,  I  believe  in  the  Savior, 
— that  is,  I  believe  there  was  such  a  person, 
and  I  never  raised  the  question  but  that  he 
performed  the  miracles  ascribed  to  him,  or 
that  he  was  the  Son  of  God. 

I  would  ask.  Have  you  ever  felt  a  deep 
conviction — a  conviction  akin  to  knowledge 
itself — that  God  has,  for  Christ's  sake  for- 
given you  all  your  sins?  If  not,  perhaps 
then  you  have  only  believed  of  the  Savior, 
and  not  in  him,  as  the  condition  requires; 
for  there  is  a  most  decided  difference  be- 
tween the  tw^o  ways  of  believing. 

To  illustrate  this,  suppose  you  were  suf- 
fering from  some  disease  which  baffled  the 
skill  of  your  family  physician,  and  he  would 
advise  you  to  employ  a  skilled  specialist  in 
a  neighboring  city.  Well  now!  you  would 
believe  of  that  other  physician — that  there 


28o  Lectures. 

was  siicli  a  person,  because  you  had  been  so 
credibly  informed  of  him;  and  you  would 
not  dispute  the  medical  skill  Avhich  your 
physician  ascribed  to  him;  but  you  would 
not  believe  in  him  fully,  would  you,  till  he 
had  cured  yoiiF  Then  you  would  believe  in 
him  with  all  the  fervor  of  a  grateful  heart. 

And  how  would  you  be  cured ;  by  simply 
believing  that  there  was  such  a  physician^ 
and  that  he  did  cure  cases  similar  to  yours? 
Or  by  going  to  him,  and  asking  him  to  exer- 
cise his  professional  skill  in  your  behalf? 

This  is  just  what  j^ou  must  do  to  acquire 
that  belief  in  the  Savior  which  will  give  you 
a  passport  to  eternal  life  and  happiness  be- 
yond the  grave — you  must  come  to  him  and 
be  morally  and  spiritually  healed ! 

Then  why  not  come — his  invitation  is  so 
cordial  and  assuring?  He  says  ^'Come  unto 
me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden, 
and  I  will  give  you  rest.  Ask,  and  it  shall 
be  given  you ;  seek,  and  ye  shall  find ;  knock 
and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you." 

But  why  come  to  Christ?  Why  not  carry 
our  petitions  direct  to  the  Father?    Because 


Lectures.  281 

Christ,  the  divine  representative  of  the 
Father,  distinctly  says :  "I  am  the  way  and 
the  truth  and  the  life :  no  man  cometh  unto 
the  Father,  hut  by  MeT 

And  how  much  is  the  human  heart  like 
this,  after  all !  We  will  suppose  you  had  a 
son  who  disobediently  wandered  away  from 
you,  and  became  so  lost  and  sunken  in  moral 
depravity  and  shame,  that  in  your  deep  dis- 
appointment and  sorrowful  resentment,  you 
disowned  and  disinherited  him :  but  as  the 
years  roll  by,  and  the  first  sharp  pangs  of 
your  great  grief  become  softened  into  a  sad 
memory,  your  parental  heart  yearns  for 
that  boy,  who  has  never  been  out  of  your 
mind  for  a  single  day;  and  you  resolve  to 
send  a  friend  out  after  him. 

In  due  time  your  messenger  reaches  the 
boy,  and  informs  him  that  you  desire  his  re- 
turn with  the  messenger,  that  you  may  for- 
give, and  restore  him  to  family  and  friends. 
But  suppose  that  boy  should  reply.  No,  Sir  I 
ril  not  go  with  you;  if  Father  wants  to  for- 
give me,  he  must  come  to  me  himself ! 

Whose  fault  would  it  be  if  that  insolent 


282  Lectures. 

and  wicked  son  remained  outside  the  family 
fold  forever?  Or  whose  fault  would  it  be  if 
a  condemned  criminal  perished,  who  on  be- 
ing assured  of  a  full  pardon  if  he  would  but 
petition  the  Governor  of  his  state,  replied — 
No,  Sir!  I'll  ask  pardon  of  no  one  but  the 
highest  oflScial  in  the  land — the  President 
himself !  And,  my  friends,  whose  fault  will 
it  be  if  we  likewise  perish,  if  we  persist  in 
rejecting  this  natural,  reasonable,  and  easy 
condition  of  our  redemption? 

But  some  one  may  truthfully  say,  I  have 
always  tried  to  do  right — have  been  honest > 
industrious,  peaceable  and  charitable ;  and  I 
think  my  daily  walk  will  compare  favorably 
with  that  of  a  great  many  Christians  with 
whom  I  am  acquainted ! 

My  friend!  your  course  is  certainly  wor- 
thy of  the  highest  praise ;  and  I  believe  that 
somehow  and  somewhere  in  God's  just  prov- 
idence, you  will  surely  receive  your  reward. 
But  how  could  a  few  years — ten,  twenty, 
forty,  or  even  eighty  years  of  good  conduct 
on  your  part,  purchase  and  pay  for  mil- 
lions and  millions  without  end  of  years  of 


Lectures.  283 

eternal  life  and  peace  and  rest  and  joy? 
Why !  that  would  be  a  very  unequal  business 
transaction,  would  it  not? 

No,  my  friends!  eternal  life  cannot  be 
earned  or  purchased;  but  it  is  just  what  the 
Gospel  declares  it  to  be — the  Free  Gift  of 
God,  to  every  one  that  believeth. 

If  it  were  not  so,  what  hope  would  the 
aged  who  had  renounced  their  sins  have  of 
earning  it,  as  compared  with  those  who  set 
out  for  the  prize  in  the  morning  of  life? 

The  Savior  very  clearly  illustrates  this  in 
his  parable  of  the  laborers  in  the  vineyard ; 
in  which  you  will  recollect  that  those  who 
began  at  the  eleventh  hour,  were  rewarded 
the  same  as  those  who  had  borne  the  bur- 
den and  heat  of  the  day. 

And  now,  are  we  ready  for  the  question : 
What  is  the  first  step — what  must  I  do,  or 
lioAV  must  I  begin,  to  attain  to  that  belief 
which  leads  to  life  eternal? 

My  friends !  I  trust  you  will  pardon  me  if 
I  give  you  my  own  experience  on  this  point 
of  inquiry,  because  when  I  speak  of  that,  I 
know  whereof  I  affirm ;  and  it  cannot  then 


284  Lectures. 

be  said  of  me,  that  I  am  dependent  on  the 
testimony  of  others: 

When  in  my  twentieth  year,  in  possession 
of  a  fair  education  for  my  years,  with  some 
knowledge  of  the  Bible,  and  with  encourag- 
ing worldly  prospects,  I  became  impressed 
with  a  sense  of  my  duty  to  God,  and  with  a 
desire  to  gain  his  pardon  and  favor.  It  was 
not  in  time  of  a  revival,  or  of  any  special 
religious  interest  in  the  locality  where  I  re- 
sided, so  my  frame  of  mind  could  not  be  at- 
tributed to  excitement  or  urgent  appeal ;  but 
in  the  calm  and  quiet  of  my  own  peaceful 
boyhood  home,  I  confronted  the  great  prob- 
lem— "What  must  I  do  to  be  saved?" 

I  began  with  earnestly  and  attentively 
reading  the  New  Testament;  the  readings 
being  later  accompanied  by  prayer — though 
always  to  the  Father,  without  reference  to 
the  Son.  Not  that  I  denied  Christ's  person- 
ality nor  his  divine  mission — No !  I  believed 
of  the  Savior  and  what  was  recorded  of  him, 
just  as  I  believed  of  George  Washington  or 
Benjamin  Franklin ;  and  I  honestly  thought 


Lectures.  285 

that  really  constituted  all  the  belief  in  the 
Savior  required. 

Each  day  I  grew  more  earnest  in  my  de- 
votions and  scriptural  readings,  each  day 
more  sad  and  abstracted;  for  no  light  yet 
penetrated  the  overhanging  darkness — all 
was  heaviness  and  gloom.  This  continued 
for  two  or  three  weeks,  till  one  Sabbath  day 
I  went  to  religious  services  in  our  little  dis- 
trict school-house,  up  among  the  green  hills 
of  Central  New  York. 

The  officiating  clergyman  was  not  one  of 
the  high-cultured  pulpit  orators  of  the  day ; 
he  indulged  in  no  grand  flights  of  eloquence 
nor  fine  figures  of  rhetoric — his  sentences 
may  not  all  have  been  grammatical ;  but  he 
knew  the  "Old,  old  story!"  He  had  sat  at 
the  feet  of  Jesus,  and  had  learned  of  him! 
And  as  he  earnestly  portrayed  Christ's  per- 
sonality, divine  mission,  and  present  atti- 
tude, standing  at  the  right  hand  of  God, 
making  intercession  for  us  as  our  mediator, 
advocate,  and  Great  High  Priest,  and  that 
through  him  must  our  petitions  to  the 
Father  be  made, — as  he  pictured  this,  a  new 


286  Lectures. 

conception  of  Christ's  character  and  office 
dawned  on  me;  and  on  reaching  home  I  at 
once  retired  to  my  room,  and  on  bended  knee 
fervently  prayed  God,  for  Christ's  sake,  to 
forgive  my  sins. 

And  then  the  glad  light  came — right  then 
and  there,  just  as  the  Savior  told  Nicodemus 
that  it  would  come — ^^As  the  wind  bloweth 
where  it  listeth,  and  thou  hearest  the  sound 
thereof,  but  canst  not  tell  whence  it  cometh 
and  whither  it  goeth,  so  is  every  one  that  is 
born  of  the  Spirit."  And  in  this  age  of  free 
thought,  liberal  Christianity,  and  trying  to 
get  to  Heaven  by  climbing  up  some  other 
way,  I  wish  to  place  myself  on  record  as 
saying  that  Christian  conversion,  as  defined 
in  the  New  Testament,  is  a  glorious  real  it//. 
and  if  you  would  gain  the  high  and  beauti- 
ful Heaven,  do  not  rest  till  3^ou  have  experi- 
enced it,  whether  in  the  church,  or  out ! 

As  I  arose  from  prayer  on  that  eventful 
Sabbath  day,  I  knew  just  as  well  that  I  was 
forgiven,  and  had  passed  from  darkness  to 
light,  as  the  glad  prisoner  knows  that  he  is 
free,  when  with  the  Governor's  pardon  in 


Lectures.  287 

his  hand,  he  steps  forth  from  his  gloomy  cell 
into  God's  free  air  au;l  sunlight;  but  being 
of  a  somewhat  retiring  and  bashful  temper- 
ament, I  reasoned  to  myself, — Now  I  have 
this  "Pearl  of  great  price,"  I  can  hide  it  in 
my  bosom,  and  the  world  and  my  young  as- 
sociates need  not  know  what  God  has  done 

for  me. You  see  the  work  was  not  quite 

completed  yet ;  but  as  I  continued  in  prayer 
through  the  week,  gradually  that  reserve 
gave  way,  and  before  the  week  was  ended 
I  was  ready  and  willing  and  anxious  to  con- 
fess Christ  before  the  world,  though  all  the 
world  should  forsake  me.  And  this  I  did  on 
the  following  Sabbath  in  our  union  church, 
triumphantly  and  without  fear,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  a  large  congregation. 

And  in  the  days  immediately  following,  I 
experienced  a  sense  of  calm  security  and 
restfulnefis  and  light-heartedness  which  I 
had  never  felt  before.  O,  I  could  laugli 
then !  The  gloom  was  all  dispelled,  and  the 
beautiful  Heaven  seemed  just  a  little  over- 
head; while  the  diflQcult  passages  of  the 
Bible  all  seemed  cleared  up,  and  a  consist- 


288  Lectures. 

ency  and  a  harmony  ran  through  the  whole, 
which  the  discord  of  sectarian  strife  and  the 
teachings  of  the  ^'higher  criticism"  have  never 
yet  been  able  to  disturb.  And  though  I  have 
since,  at  times,  wandered  far,  far  from  the 
path  in  which  I  first  set  out,  and  have  said 
and  done  many  foolish  and  wicked  things, 
yet  through  all  these  years  God  has  not  for- 
saken me,  and  I  truly  feel  that  I  am  one 
more  example  of  his  patience  and  long-suf- 
fering with  them  that  believe. 

And  now,  my  friends !  will  you  accept  the 
riches  of  God's  grace  on  these  liberal  and 
easy  terms?  If  you  are  timid  and  bashful, 
as  I  was,  and  have  a  dread  of  arising  to  ex- 
press your  determination  in  public,  be  not 
in  the  least  discouraged;  but  in  the  retire- 
ment of  your  own  homes  carefully  study  the 
Scriptures — read  attentively  the  words  of 
promise  and  instruction  uttered  by  our 
Savior,  as  found  recorded  in  the  first  four 
books  of  the  New  Testament,  and  pray  to 
your  Heavenly  Father !  asking  all  things  in 
the  name  of  the  Savior,  who  stands  ready 
to  intercede  for  you. 


Lectures.  289 

Be  earnest  and  persevering,  and  the  glo- 
rious light  will  surely  come;  and  you  will 
have  courage  and  confidence  then — you  will 
not  shrink  from  coming  to  the  church  or  to 
the  prayer-meeting  and  confessing  Christ 
before  men,  as  he  reasonably  requires ;  that 
he  may  also  confess  you  before  his  Father  in 
Heaven.  And  though  worldly  prosperity 
may  not  directly  follow,  yet  God  will  give 
you  Christian  fortitude  to  bear  those  ills  of 
life  which  are  common  to  all. 

You  will  not  dread  to  grow  old  then ;  but 
each  trace  of  advancing  years,  each  monitor 
of  life's  waning  day,  will  be  to  you  a  mark 
of  progress  toward  your  Heavenly  heritage ; 
and  if  sorrow  and  affliction  come,  you  will 
be  sustained  by  the  reflection  that  Christ 
said  to  his  own  beloved  disciples,  "For  in 
the  world  ye  shall  have  tribulation,  but  be 
of  good  cheer — I  have  overcome  the  world." 
m.  John,  16:33.  And  that  he  also  said, 
*^He  that  shall  endure  unto  the  end,  the 
same  shall  be  saved!"    Matt,  24:13, 

O,  Christian  soldier  and  cross-bearer! — 
mid  the  tumult  of  daily  life,  the  assaults  of 


290  Lectures, 

skepticism,  the  clash  of  creeds, — the  fall 
of  dynasties  or  the  wreck  of  worlds! — keep 
your  eye  ever  on  this  bright  beacon-light, — 
"He  that  shall  endure  unto  the  end,  the 
same  shall  be  saved !" 

And  from  what  shall  we  be  saved?  From 
all  further  poverty  and  toil,  sickness,  sor- 
row and  death;  for  there  shall  be  no  more 
death  there!  From  the  snubs  and  extor- 
tions and  overreachings  of  the  proud  and 
selfish  and  avaricious,  for  they  will  not  be 
there; — no  more  cold  winter's  storms  nor 
sultry  summer's  heat,  but  one  perpetual 
Spring-time  of  life  and  light,  peace  and 
plenty,  health  and  rest  and  joy; — reunion 
with  the  dear  ones,  and  communion  with  the 
truly  good  and  great  from  every  Age  and 
Clime,  in  a  World  ivithout  end. — Forever! 

I  had  purposed  ending  here,  but  one 
more  thought  is  suggested  by  attendant  cir- 
cumstances, which  unexpressed,  would 
leave    my    effort     altogether    incomplete: 

My  words  have  thus  far  been  addressed 

more  particularly  to  the  mature,  the  mid- 
dle-aged, and  to  those  well  advanced  in  life; 


Lectures.  291 

but  I  see  before  me  manj  of  the  young,  the 
hopeful  and  the  happy — those  to  whom  life 
still  seems,  as  it  were,  an  unwritten  poem 
and  the  future  a  blissful  dream. 

Far  be  it  from  me  to  willingly  say  aught 
that  would  in  the  slightest  measure  detract 
from  the  innocent  pleasures  of  Youth,  but 
as  the  firm  friend  of,  and  sympathizer  with 
the  young,  I  would  commend  to  each  of  you, 
my  young  friends !  those  words  of  approved 
wisdom — "Remember  now  thy  Creator,  in 
the  days  of  thy  youth :"  assuring  you  there 
is  no  worthy  ambition  but  that  a  true  Chris- 
tian faith  elevates  and  ennobles,  no  proper 
pleasure  but  that  it  purifies  and  enhances, 
no  life  but  that  it  beautifies  and  blesses, — 
no  death  but  that  it  may  divest  of  its  gloom, 
and  transform  the  passage  across  the  dark 
waters  into  a  triumphal  entry  through  the 
Gate  Beautiful,  to  the  Beautiful  Beyond. 

And  while  we  have  full  assurance  that 
God  will  in  no  wise  reject  the  truly  contrite 
heart,  even  though  that  heart  contain  but 
the  dregs  of  a  wasted  and  a  misspent  life, 
yet  O !  how  like  sweet  incense  must  rise  to 


292  Lectures. 

the  Throne  of  Grace  the  offering  of  one  of 
these  young  and  joyous  hearts,  to  whom  the 
world  offers  so  much,  yet  willing  to  forsake 
all,  if  need  be,  for  the  higher,  happier,  and 
better  Christ-life. 

Then  pardon  me  if  I  urge  upon  you  the 
importance  of  attending  to  this  matter 
while  the  heart  is  still  tender  and  suscepti- 
ble, and  ere  the  evil  days  come,  when  in 
bitterness  and  sorrow  despondently  you 
say,  "I  have  no  pleasure  in  them!"  And 
that  the  God  of  grace  and  peace  and  love 
may  be  with  you  always,  and  bless  your 
lives  and  guide  your  footsteps,  and  at  last 
bring  you  into  his  Heavenly  Rest,  is  the 
sincere  prayer  of  your  humble  servant. 


CHAPTER  X. 

RELIGIOUS    FAITH. 

As  I  have  been  disposed  to  examine  and 
consider  and  decide  for  myself,  in  pursuing 
those  sciences  pertaining  to  the  material ,  so 
I  have  held  myself  equally  independent  in 
studying  and  interpreting  that  Revelation 
which  treats  of  things  spiritual. 

While  believing  implicitly  in  the  truth 
and  inspiration  of  the  Bible,  yet  my  under- 
standing of  some  portions  of  it  may  differ 
quite  materially  from  that  of  many  people 
whose  faith  in  the  Old  Book  is  nevertheless 
as  perfect  as  mine  could  possibly  be;  and  it 
was,  until  recently,  my  determination  never 
to  give  my  peculiar  religious  views  to  the 
public,  lest  they  might  tend  to  unsettle  the 
faith  of  any  who  have  accepted  some  wor- 
thy established  creed. 


294  Religious  Faith. 

But  since  coming  in  contact  with  the  so- 
called  "higher  criticism/'  the  question  has 
very  forcibly  presented  itself  to  my  mind, 
if  the  extreme  views  of  the  Orthodox  faith 
respecting  everlasting  punishment,  etc., 
may  not  have  incited  this  Bible  revolt, 
which  we  are  told  numbers  in  its  ranks  so 
many  Who  have  been  sealed  and  sanctified 
for  its  defense.  Hence  my  decision  to  un- 
dertake an  honest  and  unbiased  discussion 
of  those  vital  principles  which  give  form  to 
the  Christian  faith;  admitting,  however, 
that  I  believe  we  may  without  prejudice 
differ  in  minor  particulars,  and  that  it  may 
not  have  been  the  Divine  plan  to  have  all 
men  interpret  the  Scriptures  strictly  alike. 

If,  for  instance,  the  Bible  had  been  writ- 
ten so  plainly,  and  every  proposition  made 
so  transparent  that  a  single  reading  would 
satisfy,  and  convey  the  same  impressions  to 
every  reader,  men  would  soon  have  laid  it 
aside,  as  being  of  no  farther  use  to  them^ 
and  it  would  long  ago  have  become  an  obso- 
lete and  forgotten  book.  But  it  is  wisely 
so  constituted  that  each  new  reading  dis- 


Religious  Faith.  295 

covers  new  and  interesting  truths;  and 
while  true  believers  accept  in  common  its 
fundamental  precepts,  they  may  yet  differ 
sufficiently  in  the  lesser  matters  of  faith  to 
maintain  that  friendly  controversy  which 
keeps  it  always  before  the  people. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  active  life  of  the 
average  book  is  no  more  than  ten  years, 
and  that  but  very  few  survive  a  century; 
yet  to  this  divinely  wise  feature  of  their 
composition  is  perhaps  due  the  survival  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures  through  all  the  years 
of  history,  whose  steady  flight  has  witnessed 
the  birth,  triumph  and  decay  of  the  grandest 
works  of  art,  literature  and  science;  the 
rise  and  fall  of  empires, — while  the  glorious 
onward  march  of  the  Gospel  of  Peace  has 
encircled  the  Globe. 

Up  to  the  time  of  my  conversion  to  Chris- 
tianity, my  religious  training  had  been 
purely  Orthodox,  and  I  had  never  for  a 
moment  questioned  the  correctness  of  its 
teachings  respecting  the  absolute  immor- 
tality of  the  soul — that  for  weal  or  woe  the 
soul  of  man  shall  live  on  and  on,  through 


2q6  Religious  Faith. 

the  countless  ages  of  eternity.  But  with 
the  new  light  and  interest  gained  from  that 
conversion,  I  studied  the  Scriptures,  not 
for  the  purpose  of  fortifying  any  precon- 
ceived opinions  of  my  own,  nor  any  accept- 
ed creed, — I  sought  for  Truth!  and  the 
truth  only. 

And  now,  at  the  risk  of  being  charged 
with  heresy,  I  must  confess  that  I  found  no 
words  in  the  Old  Testament  or  the  New,  de- 
claring, or  directly  implying  that  the  soul 
of  man  is  ahsolutely  immortal. 

Though  we  find  abundant  promise  that 
they  who  have  accepted  the  Gospel  condi- 
tions of  man's  redemption,  and  manifest  the 
same  in  their  daily  walk,  are  heirs  of 
Heaven  and  a  blest  immortality,  yet  all 
passages  referring  to  future  punishment,  if 
properly  analyzed,  tend  to  show  that  the 
unrepentant  wicked,  toitli  a  fetv  exceptions^ 
shall  finally  die:  "For  the  wages  of  sin  is 
death." 

This  is  also  evinced  in  the  words  of  our 
Savior — "For  God  so  loved  the  world  that 
he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whoso- 


Religious  Faith.  297 

ever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but 
have  everlasting  life.''  Johnj  S:  16.  These 
words  plainly  imply  that  the  unbelieving 
shall  perish :  and  we  find  that  the  definition 
of  the  word,  perish,  is  to  die.,  to  decay ;  and 
not  to  live  in  torment. 

But  I  am  aware  that  the  Bible  contains 
several  other  passages  which  are  commonly 
interpreted  as  being  declarations  of  eternal 
punishment  to  the  wicked.  I  will  not  un- 
dertake to  review  them  all,  but  will  take  up 
a  few  of  those  which  appear  moet  positive 
and  forcible  in  expression : 

In  the  9th  chapter  of  Mark's  Gospel  we 
find  several  times  repeated  the  often  quoted 
words,  "Where  their  worm  dieth  not,  and 
the  fire  is  not  quenched!"  which  passage  is 
by  many  supposed  to  imply  that  the  fire  and 
the  condemned  soul,  both  exist  forever ;  the 
one  always  tormenting  the  other. 

But  if  we  analyze  this  sentence,  we  will 
see  at  once  that  the  two  words,  worm  and 
fire,  are  simply  a  repetition  of  terms,  both 
meaning  that  which  destroys ;  fire  being  re- 
ferred to  throughout  the  Bible,  and  at  all 


298  Religious  Faith. 

times  recognized  as  the  great  degitmctive 
element,  and  the  term,  worm,  being  used  in 
the  same  scriptural  sense.  For  example,  in 
the  book  of  Joel,  2 :  25 — "And  I  mil  restore 
to  you  the  years  that  the  locust  hath  eaten, 
the  canker-worm  and  the  caterpillar  and  the 
palmer-worm,  my  great  army  which  I 
have  sent  among  you.''  And  again  in  Job, 
19 :  26 — "And  though  after  my  skin,  worms 
destroy  this  body,  yet  in  my  flesh  shall  I 
see  God!" 

The  book  of  Revelation  also  contains 
some  forcible  expressions  of  this  character ; 
conspicuously  among  these  being  Rev. 
14 :  11 — "And  the  smoke  of  their  torment 
ascendeth  up  for  ever  and  ever:  and  they 
have  no  rest  day  nor  night  who  worship  the 
beast  and  his  image,  and  whosoever  receiv- 
eth  the  mark  of  his  name." 

This  passage,  strong  and  conclusive  as  it 
may  at  first  appear,  and  is  by  many  re- 
garded, does  not  say  that  the  unfortunate 
ones  referred  to  continue  in  torment;  it 
says  that  the  smohe  of  their  torment — of 
the  fiery  medium  of  their  destruction,  as- 


Religious  Faith.  299 

cends  forever;  and  this  for  a  reason  con- 
sidered later. 

The  latter  clause  of  the  passage  quoted 
does,  however,  appear  to  imply  a  continued 
unrest;  but  as  the  verb  employed  in  it  has 
the  form  of  the  present  tense  ("they  have 
no  rest,''  etc.)  and  not  of  the  future  tense 
(they  shall  have  no  rest,)  the  language 
would  appear  to  refer  rather  to  this  pres- 
ent state,  as  it  is  quite  unlike  the  form  of 
expression  used  in  Rev.  20 :  10,  which,  in 
referring  to  an  endless  future,  employs  the 
verb,  ^hall  he! 

But  lest  this  should  not  be  conclusive,  let 
us  briefly  examine  two  more  passages  which 
appear  the  strongest  in  their  denunciation 
of  sinners  of  anything  found  in  the  Bible. 
In  Matt,  25 :  41,  we  find  these  words :  "Then 
shall  he  also  say  unto  them  on  the  left  hand, 
Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting 
fire  prepared  for  the  Devil  and  his  angels.'' 
Also  in  2d  Thess.  1 : 9,  "Who  shall  be  pun- 
ished with  everlasting  destruction,  from  the 
presence  of  the  Lord,  and  from  the  glory  of 
his  power." 


300  Religious  Faith. 

The  first  of  these  quotations,  positive  as 
it  may  sound,  does  not  imply  eternal  tor- 
ture to  the  accursed  in  general,  unless  the 
word  prepared  refers  to  themy  as  many  care- 
lessly construe  it;  but  if  we  examine  the 
passage  in  connection  with  others  in  the 
Bible  which  have  a  reference  to  it,  we  will 
find  that  the  word  prepared  refers  to  the 
fire,  and  not  to  the  condemned,  and  it  might 
properly  read  thus — Depart,  ye  cursed,  into 
that  fire  which  is  prepared  for  the  Devil 
and  his  angels. 

This  conclusion  is  sustained  by  the  words 
of  the  second  quotation,  in  which  the  ever- 
lasting fire  is  called  "everlasting  destruc- 
tion ;"  and  the  lost  souls  who  have  a  part  in 
it  must  necessarily  be  destroyed;  which,  as 
repeatedly  declared  in  the  20th  and  21st 
chapters  of  Rev.,  "Is  the  second  death." 

The  words  of  our  Savior,  as  recorded  in 
Matt.  10 :  28,  also  clearly  imply  that  the 
soul  of  man  is  not  ahsoJutehj  immortal,  and 
that  Hell  is  the  appointed  place  for  the  de- 
struction of  lost  souls:  the  passage  reads 
thus — "Fear  not  them  that  kill  the  body, 


Religious  Faith.  301 

but  cannot  kill  the  soul;  but  rather  fear 
him  who  is  able  to  destroy  both  soul  and 
body  in  Hell." 

But  why  then  is  that  place  of  destruction 
made  everlasting,  if  after  the  final  day  of 
judgment,  the  condemned  are  destroyed?  A 
few  pages  back,  I  referred  to  some  excep- 
tions apparently  made,  in  which  the  second 
death  brings  no  relief.  Those  exceptions 
are  clearly  indicated  by  the  words  found  in 
Rev.  20 :  10— "And  the  Devil  that  deceived 
them  was  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire  and  brim- 
stone, where  the  beast  and  the  false  prophet 
are,  and  shall  be  tormented  day  and  night, 
for  ever  and  ever." 

In  Rev.  19 :  19,  20,  21,  though  a  different 
figure  of  expression  is  used,  yet  it  not  only 
confirms  the  foregoing  quotation,  but  plain- 
ly marks  the  distinction  made  between 
those  arch  offenders  and  the  rank  and  file 
of  sinners.    It  reads  thus : 

"And  I  saw  the  beast  and  the  kings  of 
the  earth,  and  their  armies  gathered  to- 
gether to  make  war  against  Him  that  sat 
on  the  horse,  and  against  His  army. 


302  Religious  Faith. 

^'And  the  beast  was  taken,  and  with  him 
the  false  prophet  that  wrought  miracles  be- 
fore him,  with  which  he  deceived  them  that 
had  received  the  mark  of  the  beast,  and 
them  that  worshiped  his  image.  These  both 
were  cast  alive  into  a  lake  of  fire  burning 
with  brimstone. 

"And  the  remnant  were  slain  with  the 
sword  of  Him  that  sat  upon  the  horse, 
which  sword  proceeded  out  of  His  mouth; 
and  all  the  fowls  were  filled  with  their 
flesh." 

AN   INTERMEDIATE  STATE. 

That  there  is  an  intermediate  state,  in 
which  the  souls  of  mankind  have  either  a 
conscious,  or  an  unconscious  existence, 
from  the  time  of  departing  this  earthly  life, 
till  the  final  resurrection,  is  clearly  indi- 
cated by  many  passages  of  Scripture,  while 
none  seem  to  plainly  refute  it. 

When  the  thief  on  the  cross  spake  in  the 
Savior's  defense,  and  prayed  for  his  remem- 
brance when  he  should  come  into  his  king- 
dom, our  Savior  graciously  replied,  "To-day 


Religious  Faith.  303 

shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  Paradise  T  Luke, 
23: 43.  But  we  read  in  the  first  chapter  of 
the  book  of  Acts,  that  it  was  forty  days  be- 
fore Christ  ascended  to  Heaven;  therefore 
the  Paradise  he  referred  to  could  not  have 
been  the  high  Heaven  wherein  the  Father 
and  his  holy  angels  dwell. 

We  also  read  in  Acts,  2  :  34 — '^For  David 
is  not  ascended  into  the  Heavens :"  and  in 
John,  3 :  13,  Christ  himself  says,  "And  no 
man  hath  ascended  up  to  Heaven,  but  he 
that  came  down  from  Heaven,  even  the  Son 
of  .nan  which  is  in  Heaven."  And  again  in 
1st  Cor.  15 :  20,  St.  Paul  says,  "But  now  is 
Christ  risen  from  the  dead,  and  become  the 
first  fruits  of  them  that  slept." 

These  passages,  and  several  others  of  a 
like  character,  imply  that  up  to  the  time  of 
the  Savior's  advent  no  man  had  yet  ascend- 
ed to  the  high  Heaven;  and  that  until  the 
final  resurrection,  which  will  be  heralded 
by  his  second  coming,  none  will  so  ascend, 
is  manifested  by  the  Savior's  own  words  in 
Matthew,  16 :  27— "For  the  Son  of  man  will 
come  in  the  glory  of  his  Father,  with  the 


304  Religious  Faith. 

angels ;  and  tJien  lie  shall  reward  every  man 
according  to  his  works." 

Also  in  St.  John,  5 :  28,  29— "Marvel  not 
at  this,  for  the  hour  is  coming,  in  the  which 
all  that  are  in  their  graves  shall  hear  his 
voice,  and  shall  come  forth ;  they  that  have 
done  good,  unto  the  resurrection  of  life ;  and 
they  that  have  done  evil,  unto  the  resurrec- 
tion of  damnation,"  (that  is,  shall  be  raised 
or  resurrected  to  meet  condemnatory  judg- 
ment) .  Likewise  in  Thess.  4 :  16,  Paul  says, 
"For  the  Lord  himself  shall  descend  from 
Heaven  with  a  shout,  with  the  voice  of  the 
archangel,  and  with  the  trump  of  God ;  and 
the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first." 

As  many  ages  have  already  passed  since 
Christ's  departure  from  this  earth,  and  we 
know  not  how  many  more  may  ensue  before 
his  second  coming,  when  all  shall  rise  and 
appear  before  the  judgment  bar  of  God,  a 
consideration  of  how  that  period  of  exist- 
ence is  employed  by  those  who  have  depart- 
ed this  life,  is  a  study  of  particular  interest. 

Many  expressions  throughout  the  Bible 
would  lead  us  to  infer  that  the  departed 


Religious  Faith.  305 

may  repose  in  that  unconscious  state  called 
sleep  till  the  resurrection  morn,  since  that 
term  is  freely  employed  in  the  Scriptures  to 
describe  their  changed  existence.  And 
Avhile  that  may  be  true  of  the  majority,  yet 
the  inspired  teacher  Paul,  though  appear- 
ing to  hold  this  view,  in  part,  as  is  shown 
by  his  words  in  1st  Cor.  15 :  51,  yet  makes 
a  most  decided  exception.  The  passage 
reads  thus :  "Behold,  I  show  you  a  mys- 
tery:  we  shall  not  all  sleep,  but  we  shall  all 
be  changed.''  These  words  appear  to  im- 
ply plainly,  that  while  many  ivill  sleep,  yet 
others  will  not. 

This  exception  is  in  perfect  accord  with 
the  Savior's  words  recorded  in  John,  11 :  26, 
which  read,  "And  whosoever  liveth  and  be- 
lieveth  in  me,  shall  never  die!" 

I  interpret  this  clause  as  meaning  that 
they  who  believe  in  the  Savior  in  this  life, 
and  manifest  their  faith  by  their  works,  will 
at  once,  on  leaving  the  earthly  sphere,  enter 
into  a  conscious  and  blessed  intermediate 
state;  or  in  the  language  of  the  Savior,  shall 
never  die.     This  I  believe  to  be  the  First 


3o6  Religious  Faith. 

Resurrection,  spoken  of  in  Revelation, 
20:6, — "Blessed  and  holy  is  he  that  hath 
part  in  the  first  resurrection:  on  such,  the 
second  death  hath  no  power." 

But  does  the  exception  apply  only  to  the 
Lord's  redeemed?  There  is  introduced  into 
the  16th  chapter  of  Luke's  Gospel  a  narra- 
tive from  the  Savior's  own  lips,  which  ap- 
pears emphasized  by  standing  alone;  ap- 
parently having  no  connection  with  the  pre- 
ceding portion  of  the  chapter ;  and  whether 
given  as  a  parable,  or  as  a  historic  fact,  men 
have  been  unable  to  decide.  But  as  it  came 
from  the  lips  of  One  who  never  spake  an  idle 
word,  and  whose  every  expression  was 
fraught  with  a  purpose,  we  must  conclude 
that  it  was  given  for  our  instruction. 

In  this  narrative,  the  miserable  and  ema- 
ciated beggar,  Lazarus,  is  represented  as 
lying  at  the  rich  man's  gate,  and  desiring 
to  be  fed  with  the  crumbs  which  fell  from 
his  table :  that  in  time  the  beggar  died,  and 
was  carried  by  the  angels  into  Abraham's 
bosom. 

The  rich  man  also  died,  and  was  buried ; 


Religious  Faith.  307 

and  in  Hell  he  lifted  up  his  eyes,  being  in 
torment;  and  seeing  Abraham  afar  off  and 
Lazarus  in  his  bosom,  he  implored  Father 
Abraham  to  send  Lazarus  to  relieve  him  in 
his  torment. 

But  Abraham  replied,  ^^Son!  remember 
that  thou  in  thy  lifetime  receivedst  thy  good 
things,  and  likewise  Lazarus  evil  things; 
but  now  he  is  comforted,  and  thou  art  tor- 
mented. And  besides  all  this,  between  us 
and  you  there  is  a  great  gulf  fixed,  so  that 
they  who  would  pass  from  hence  to  you, 
cannot;  neither  can  they  pass  to  us  that 
would  come  from  thence." 

The  inference  drawn  from  this  picture  is 
that,  aside  from  the  conditions  already  con- 
sidered in  the  intermediate  state,  it  may 
also  be  the  place  where  the  wrongs  of  this 
world  are  in  a  measure  righted;  and  that 
they  who  have  known  extreme  poverty  and 
suffering  here,  as  well  as  they  who,  by  in- 
flicting such  suffering  on  others,  have  been 
enabled  to  fare  sumptuously,  shall  each  of 
them  receive  his  proper  reward;  while  the 
two,  in  their  changed  conditions,  are  sepa- 


3o8  Religious  Faith. 

rated  by  a  gulf  more  exclusive  and  impassa- 
ble than  the  social  barrier  which  separatee 
them  here. 

This  inference  finds  further  support  in 
the  words  of  our  Savior,  as  recorded  in  the 
6th  chapter  of  St.  Luke,  the  21st  verse,  read- 
ing thus :  "Blessed  are  ye  that  hunger  now ; 
for  ye  shall  be  filled.  Blessed  are  ye  that 
weep  now;  for  ye  shall  laugh."  The  24th 
verse  also  reading — "But  woe  unto  you  that 
are  nch !  for  ye  have  received  your  consola- 
tion." 

Several  passages  of  Scripture,  however, 
confirm  my  belief  that  the  latter  quotation 
refers  only  to  those  rich  people  who  lead 
selfish  and  ungodly  lives,  and  not  to  the 
noble  few  who  are  faithful  stewards  of 
God's  bounty. 

IMMORTALITY. 

Of  the  second,  and  final  death  of  the  un- 
believing, after  the  general  resurrection  and 
great  judgment  day,  and  the  everlasting 
punishment  of  Satan  and  the  false  prophets 


Religious  Faith.  309 

that  deceived  the  people,  enough  has  al- 
ready been  said,  I  trust,  to  make  plain  my 
opinion  on  those  important  questions. 

But  when  I  come  to  write  of  the  unspeak- 
able glory  and  happiness  of  the  eternal  life 
awaiting  those  who  will  be  found  worthy  to 
enter  the  pearly  gates  of  the  New  Jerusa- 
lem, I  feel  that  pen  and  brain  are  inade- 
quate to  discuss  the  glowing  descriptions 
of  the  inspired  writers.  And  I  can  only 
conceive  that  it  will  be  the  complete  grati- 
fying and  satisfying  of  that  constant  long- 
ing for  something  better  and  higher  and 
nobler,  which  is  an  inseparable  part  of  the 
normal  earthly  life :  and  the  thought  that  it 
will  be  forever  should  render  light  and  in- 
significant all  the  sacrifice  to  gain  it  which 
we  are  called  upon  to  make  in  this  life, 
whose  duration,  as  compared  with  eternity, 
is  as  a  single  drop  to  the  great  Ocean. 

In  conclusion  then,  I  most  reverently 
commend  to  every  unbeliever  the  words  of 
promise  and  hope  uttered  by  our  Savior, 
"He  that  believeth  in  me  hath  everlasting 
life,"  and  to  every  believer,  his  words  of 


3IO  Religious  Faith. 

comfort  and  encouragement,  "He  that  shall 
endure  unto  the  end,  the  same  shall  be 
saved!'' 

From  the  foregoing  discussion  of  relig- 
ious faith,  I  deduce  the  following,  which 
is — 

MY  ACCEPTED  CREED. 

I  believe  in  God  the  Father,  Creator  of 
Heaven  and  Earth ;  in  Christ  the  Savior,  in 
his  divine  origin,  and  in  his  power  and  will- 
ingness to  forgive  and  save  all  who  dili- 
gently seek  him:  also  in  the  Holy  Spirit, 
which  the  Lord  sendeth  to  those  whom  he 
receiveth. 

I  believe  in  an  intermediate  state  wherein 
all  souls  wait,  either  unconsciously,  or  in 
some  degree  of  happiness  or  unhappiness, 
the  General  Resurrection :  that  in  the  great 
Judgment  Day  the  conscious  existence  of 
unbelievers  will  finally  end,  which  is  the 
Second  Death :  but  that  Satan  and  tlie  false 
prophets  will  live  under  God's  displeasure 
forever. 

I  believe  that  they  whose  names  are  found 


Religious  Faith. 


311 


written  in  the  Book  of  Life  will  tlien  be  re- 
ceived into  a  blest  Immortality,  and  a  home 
in  the  Beautiful  Heaven  wherein  the  Father 
dwells ;  there  to  live  in  peace  and  happiness 
forever. 


J^Lc 


1247   9434 


